


Feathers and Fires

by Charizarrdo



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Attempt at Humor, Bird Puns, Birds, Blood, Bonding, Childhood Friends, Children, Death, Desk Sex, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Firefighter!Ace, Flashbacks, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Hot, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Kissing, Laundry, Marine!Ace, Middle Ages, Mpreg, Multi, One-Shots, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Prince!Marco, Reunions, Servant!Ace, Sexual Tension, Shameless Smut, Slow Romance, Smut, Stranded, Teasing, Time Travel, Trauma, Under-Desk Blow Jobs, Underage Drinking, Unplanned Pregnancy, a little cliche lol, mentioned underage child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 55,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26517310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charizarrdo/pseuds/Charizarrdo
Summary: Story collection from my random drafts and one-shots, including requests.-Requests temporarily closed-
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace/Reader, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Reader, Portgas D. Ace/Reader
Comments: 94
Kudos: 108





	1. Info + requests?

Whoop. Soo, I decided to try something new. I kinda wanted a new challenge—as if my life isn’t busy enough right now—and decided it would be a fun thing to make this into a dump for some fics and requests. I can’t promise that I’ll get to every request, nor can I promise when I’ll post them. Not even sure why I decided on this when I’m swamped with school but whatever xD. 

Requests can be as free as you’d like, not sure if I’m going to regret that statement but we’ll see xD Preferably the ships I have tagged right now because I’m most invested in those and that makes writing a bit easier. Btw, it doesn’t need to be smut, that was just the first thing I managed to finish from my drafts. Any request wanting something wholesome or sfw is well appreciated _(especially since I need more things that aren't smut)_ :D...

Like I said before, I’m actually quite busy and this random idea of mine is poorly timed buuttt, I want to try new things and I feel like this is refreshing considering I have _soooo_ many unfinished drafts on my phone and laptop… it’s really sad xD SO TIME FOR SOMETHING NEW! LEGGO!

You can leave your requests on this chapter so it's easier for me to find them again :3


	2. Work call [Marco/Ace/Reader]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco made a promise but wouldn't live through, so now both you and Ace found a fun why to busy yourself while teasing the blond endlessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **NSFW**  
>  Tags: desk sex, video call, blowjobs, endless teasings :D

Living with two men who managed to capture my heart isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Both men can be excruciating stubborn and will do everything to outdo the other, doesn’t matter if it’s important or not. But, they do have a knack of being nice and caring, finding just the right things to do to keep me from going insane.

One of those things they like to do is to just plainly seduce me. Not that it takes a lot of effort to do this as I’m more than eager to let them have their way, but it’s fun to see the new things they come up with.

Just like now, Marco is the responsible adult out of the three of us and is working diligently on something very important. I haven’t paid a lot of attention as to what the blond is doing honestly, all I know is that he’s in the middle of a meeting about a very important deal they want to close. 

But the thing is, he said he was going to be free today. He told us that he took a day off so we could spend it together, but that’s far from the truth. Sure, the company asked him earlier today if he could make some time and help with a meeting through a video call, but they said it would take only an hour, tops! We’re slowly inching closer to two hours by now…

Which left me and Ace to do something else while Marco works at his desk, our tiny dining table. Due to renovations, our study has become a bit of a mess as we’re still waiting for the new furniture to arrive along with some other supplies. The room was due for a makeover.

But that leaves the blond at the dining table, purposely facing the couch Ace and I sit on. The spot where I find myself half-naked and eagerly groped by the freckled male behind me, intent on making a whole show out of it for Marco. The raven-haired man had no trouble in starting our free day together, he was already half-hard when he arrived at the couch two hours ago. 

In the span of Marco’s meeting, Ace has been endlessly teasing me. The marks blossoming over my naked skin along with my weeping core are more than enough evidence for that. 

I do wonder how Marco can keep such a collected face as he’s facing us and clearly watching Ace’s every grope, pinch and kiss. Tanned hands slide delicately over my sides until they reach my breasts, free from confines with nipples perked up as a result of lying naked on the couch for hours. Every bit of softness from before is lost as Ace massages my chest intensely, hell-bent on eliciting every tiny moan from me as I weakly whisper his name.

“Not yet [y/n], we gotta give Marco a first-rate show. I bet he’s going to love it, watching you fall apart as I take you hard, unable to do anything behind that little screen of his.” His warm breath sends shivers down my spine and a weak mewl resounds in the air.

I’m wearing nothing except my string and Ace made it a point to show this regally to Marco. His sole attention devoted on the small piece of cloth separating my moist lips from the slight chilling air. His tanned fingers slide over the wet patch on my front, one that remains ever growing with the freckled man’s teasing touches.

“ _Ace_ ,” I moan, trying to keep my voice down so it wouldn’t be overheard by Marco’s colleagues “Stop teasing. I can’t take it anymore.”

“Soon princess, I want you to get Marco all hot and bothered first.” His dick slips past the barrier of my soaked cloth. “Serves him right for bailing on us.” Added with a bite to my neck.

I can feel his dick slide between my fold and spreading my juices, coating himself more with every grind. Ace’s teasing touches along with the stares we receive from Marco drive me crazy and I release a broken moan.

Ace is clearly doing this to rile Marco up. The movements of his dick underneath my defiled undergarment are obvious and even from the distance between the couch and the table, I can see how Marco’s eyes zero in on the sight. I can only imagine what’s going through his head by the heated stare alone.

“You see that princess; the big bad swindler is affected by your cries. Maybe he’ll come here and save you from my teasing, give you the fuck you’re aching for.” Ace snickers lowly, his voice trying to sound seductive but the childish part clearly over wins.

Marco on the other hand, he looks all but amused. Ace likes to call him a swindler at times while in fact the blond deals in a legitimate business and doesn’t ever swindle. He made that point very clear by giving the freckled man a long speech about his job and when that didn’t work; he beat him up—in a friendly way of course. And when that didn’t work he put other things into action, namely; straight up fucking the raven-haired man’s mouth while saying he’ll wash away those dirty words.

Best night of my life.

And still, none of that seem to make Ace stop in his pursuit to call the man a swindler. I think it’s because he loves the special attention he receives when testing Marco’s patience.

But none of that matters right now as I’m more than eager for some real action. Foreplay with a lot of teasing has been going on for almost two hours now and I’m willing to admit that I’m getting thirsty for something. Dick that is. It’s just taking too damn long…

Without warning Ace adjusts his thrusts and easily slips between my wet folds, stimulating my pussy with the delicious grind I’ve been craving for some time now. A loud moan escapes me at his action, startled by the feeling while at the same time loving every bit of it. Ace was just in time to stifle most of the sound with his hand.

Something well appreciated as Marco shoots us a look that says; ‘are you kidding me’.

“Whoops.” Ace even has the audacity to laugh as his hips slowly grind his dick deeper inside me. “Seems I triggered the giant birdy; hope he won’t be too mad.”

“Keep calling him that and he’ll punish you.” I smartly reply, only to get cut off by a forceful thrust from Ace.

“Our workaholic pigeon has to catch me first, and by then I’m done with this piece of ass.” His cheeky comment is accentuated with a nice resounding slap on my ass, earning him another glare from Marco.

I know I should say something to that, maybe even try to taunt the freckled man a bit more, but I’m too lost in the amazing feeling that overflows within me. 

Out of nothing Ace halts his movements, stopping his thrust half-way as he remains sheathed inside my pussy. I can feel his occasional twitch that teases me endlessly but get nothing more from him.

“ _Acee~_ ” I moan, whimpering as low as possible so Marco’s microphone wouldn’t catch on to the sound.

But instead of giving me a proper reply, he remains still; completely unmoving safe for the eager twitches as I clench around his girth. Impatiently I look behind me, wanting to know why Ace suddenly stopped, wouldn’t be the first time he falls asleep in the middle of sex.

However, as I turn and see his face, I’m met with a satisfied yet taunting smirk. The raven-haired focused entirely on the blond before him that tries to casually glare our way.

“Y’know princess, I think you should give our momma hen a helping hand. Just look at his sour face, he could use some distraction.” Ace whispers in my ear, or more like an attempt at whispering as he makes sure it’s loud enough for Marco to overhear.

It wouldn’t do much good to bother Marco more than we already have. He’s in an important meeting after all and if we start messing with the blond it might end disastrous. However, that does very little to stop my pursuit towards the man’s legs.

Underneath the table is plenty of room and I comfortable nestle myself between his feet. My hands slide over tense thighs before they come to a halt at the zipper. Really, it’s just a business call, he could’ve gone without those tight jeans.

Despite wanting to continue and basically disregarding ever bit of logic as to Marco’s work, I look up at him for confirmation. Something sweet flickers through his blue eyes before he gives a curt nod, reason enough for me to continue.

My hands make quick work of the jeans and with some awkward fumbling around I manage to pull it down to his knees. I take his length in my hand and languidly move it in the palm of my hand, adding a few short tugs to gauge his reaction. Marco exhales a bit louder than necessary but remains impassive for the most part, though how… I have no clue.

Before I wrap his throbbing hard-on with my eager lips, I glance back and watch as Ace casually scoots closer with a hand gripping to his base. A mischievous smirk plays on his bruised lips; a promise for something more. Anticipation courses through me at the idea, my tongue running over my lips and Ace follows the motion eagerly. His onyx eyes appear darker that usual as lust courses through them.

Slow and deliberate strokes of his hand catch my eye and remind me how much I need his dick inside of me. But we’re on a mission, aimed for the blond and to relieve him from the stress.

My eyes lock with Marco momentarily before he focusses back on the screen, it’s all the confirmation I need as my lips find his bulbous head. I start gently, sucking and licking the head and allowing my tongue to play with the vein on the underside of his shaft. One of the blonde’s hands find my head, silently directing me and setting a more favorable pace.

And just to taunt the blond a bit more; I continue as before, ignoring the pressure on the back of my head that tries to make me swallow his cock whole. A slight frustrated groan resounds from Marco and I look smugly into his glaring blue orbs.

“No, it’s nothing, yoi… ahh no, your explanation was fine, don’t worry about it. Just a misbehaving _pet_ on this end, that’s all.” Marco voice sounds a little strained, clearly affected by his ‘pet’s’ misbehavior.

“Ahh, it’s temporarily, yoi. No… uhh a cat?...” It sounds extremely unconvincing but somehow Marco’s colleagues are quite invested in the idea of the blond having a cat, even if it’s temporarily, because he’s stuttering poor excuses as to why he can’t show her. “She’s… asleep now… yes, just now. No, I’m not going to do that, she needs to… uhh sleep.”

Behind me I can hear Ace snickering, struggling to stifle his laughter and causing a more flustered reaction from the blond as he tries to get the meeting back on track. 

Instead of laughing my ass off, I put my focus back on the shaft in front of me and let my tongue trail over the entire length. Marco didn’t seem to expect that and jolted slightly in his chair, causing for him to think of another poor excuse why he can’t show his new kitty when asked once more. 

This time then Marco pushed my head down, I follow along, but only because I feel a bit sorry for him. I put more attention on his cock and my hand fondles his balls. My free hand rests on the blonde’s thigh and I can feel his leg tense every so often, restraining himself from doing something else and ruining his meeting.

It’s only when hands grab onto my hips that I remember Ace is still there. He directs me slightly to the side, the opening of the table that allows him to kneel behind me without actually hitting the table. Marco turns with me, slightly angling himself sideways so it wouldn’t be too noticeable. 

Just as I placed both my hands on Marco’s thighs, Ace enters me again. I want to moan and scream, sink in the feeling of ecstasy as Ace pounds inside me, but I can’t. So, in retaliation I suck harder on Marco’s dick; twirl my tongue around his flushed head before swallowing him as deep as I can. One of Marco’s hands find mine atop his thigh and he intertwines our fingers, squeezing my hand as a sign to continue.

Every answer and every explanation Marco gives is slightly breathless and obviously strained. He’s completely turned on as is evident in the amount of precome staining my mouth. Maybe a few more good sucks and he’s done, however I don’t get to put that plan into action.

Ace’s moves become erratic; faster, harder and deeper he pounds into me. It takes everything not to scream out as I let the freckled man ruin me. Behind me I can hear Ace’s breath become heavier, soft groans sounding from his throat along with the occasional whimper. Our teasing touches from before seem to have done a number on him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s close to his end. 

I’m in no better state for that matter. With every pointed trust I can feel my orgasm building up, barely able to keep it contained as my walls pulsate violently around Ace. I can hardly focus on Marco’s cock, my mouth doing a poor job of bobbing up and down as I’m unable to suck properly. 

“Sorry princess, can’t hold it any longer.” Ace groans from behind me, failing to sound quiet. His hands hold my hips tighter as he speeds up, thrusting faster than before and in the back of my mind I wonder if Marco’s colleagues can hear the sounds of slapping skin. 

Ace’s cock feels amazing, sliding fast but still hitting all the sensitive spots in my pussy. Knots are tightening but it’s still not enough to bring me over the edge and I begin rocking back into Ace, releasing Marco in the process. Hands are sliding over my back and moving to my chest, toying with my breasts and pinching my nipples. Seems that Ace is still capable of pleasing me even with his orgasm knocking on the door.

It doesn’t take much longer before he releases with a low growl, hips stuttering against me as I feel his seed flood inside. Slowly Ace rocks his hips, chasing the pleasant feeling as he rides his high out. 

Where I thought Ace was finished and would pull out, he shows he isn’t done just yet as his hand moves south towards my clit. Too lost on the high waves of pre-orgasm, I didn’t notice his fingers sliding over my folds until they’re toying with my clit. Startled and overwhelmed I yelp and jump up, hitting the table in the process.

“Ow, fuck.” I whimper, unconsciously remembering to be quiet because Marco’s in a meeting. In reply I get a soft, “Shit, sorry”, from behind.

Then I remember I probably rocked the entire table with my previous scare. Cautiously I look up to see Marco pinch the bridge of his nose, looking entirely done with everything however a small flush can be seen on his cheeks.

“I’m sorry but I believe we have to cut this short for today. It appears that both _cats_ are misbehaving and I need to deal with that, yoi.” A pointed glare is to us and both Ace and I swallow warily. 

“Yes, I’ll take a look at those later tonight. I have to go now… I can’t promise the punishment will be soft.” Another look is to us and I feel Ace jerk behind me.

“What… no, that’s not… what are you talking about? No, you can’t… please stop. Okay bye Thatch!” Whatever is was in Marco’s eyes before, it’s momentarily gone as it seems Thatch was worried about the safety of the ‘cats’.

“And you two,” Marco turns back to us as his laptop snaps shut. “I’m not yet done with you two, yoi.” He stands up and slowly walks towards us as we scoot back, jeans still clinging to his knees.

“We didn’t mean for it to go like that, just a minor inconvenience.” Ace laughs anxiously, still scrambling backwards.

Marco only quirks his eyebrow at that, looking completely disbelieving of that white lie. And yet, despite his intimidating stance along with that commanding aura surrounding him, the fact that his pants are halfway down and his dick is flagged is making it a bit more difficult to stay serious.

“Marco don’t be mad; we didn’t want to interrupt your meeting like this.” I try to sugarcoat the situation as the blond usually lets me off the hook a lot easier than with Ace.

“Oh, I’m not mad, yoi.” That doesn’t bode well… “I was going to give you all my devoted attention when I was done. But, since you two couldn’t wait, I’ll make sure to unleash hell on you two.” The blue in his eyes is almost completely overtaken by black, his pupil growing in size.

“Now get those asses to bed or I’ll kick you there.” He growls, trying to remain strict and in charge but I can see the smile tugging to his lips as Ace scrambles to stand up. 

He’s not mad, not even in the slightest. I smile back at the blond and Marco rewards me with an adorable smile before changing back to strict again, Ace didn’t see as he’s making his way towards the stairs in a bit of a hurry. 

Laughing I run to him and jump on his back. “Quick, faster Ace! Or the swindler will make us sleep with the birdies!” I howl out as I cling to his back, earning a curse as the freckled man almost loses his balance on the first step. 

“Ace I’m going to beat you so hard, yoi.” 

“THAT WASN’T ME! DON’T PUNISH ME FOR WHAT [Y/N] SAYS!” Ace screeches as he’s atop the stairs, carefully dropping me to the floor before hastening himself into the bedroom. Seems that despite his love for the special attention, he’s terrified of what Marco decides to come up with this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, first draft to finish in a long time xD Had the idea for so long but I kept forgetting to actually do something with it.  
> Let me know what you think.


	3. Undying [Marco/Ace]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He heard of the stories but never thought they were true. After all, who would believe those fairytales about vampires going out and killing people. Seems that Ace got it wrong, very wrong...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **NSFW**  
>  Tags: Vampire AU, blood, slight angst, sexual tension

It had been an excruciating long day at college. Stupidly long classes with annoying assignments being thrown their way. Idiot classmates squealing through the classroom like pigs in a pigsty. Grumpy teachers giving them death glares as they couldn’t get the rowdy adolescents in control.

All in all, a horrible day and Ace is more than happy it’s finally over.

Unfortunately, before he could make his way back home—to ditch his heavy backpack and put on some comfy wear instead of the more formal clothes needed for public places such as school—Ace got a call from his brother. Something about Luffy being an idiot once again and gotten himself in trouble with one of the teachers at his school. In Ace’s opinion the teacher in question isn’t exactly world’s greatest teacher, Mr. Don Quixote has a bit of an… odd way of teaching. So whatever Luffy has done probably isn’t that bad, but as Luffy’s older brothers, both Sabo and he need to reprimand the boy. 

Anyway, that phone call is the reason to why Ace is walking to the nearest store instead of going home. Sabo had said that it might take some time to get Luffy back considering there are some forms that need to be filled in and they need to have a _civil_ talk with the man—his blond brother sounded seething on the other end of the line so Ace can only imagine how that conversation will end. And now that Ace bought his instant ramen as he’s too tired to bother and cook, he’s making his way back home.

He could take the long way home but since Ace is more than a little done with today, he decides on taking a shortcut through the alley. As a plus, it effectively cuts the usual traffic jam on the sidewalk as people are done with school or work, meaning he doesn’t need to shove his way through a horde of men with a tired body and heavy backpack. The alley might be dark and a little creepy but that does very little to deter his will to just get home and be done with this god awful day.

There are rumors about these alleys though. They say that people, humans in specific, should stay clear from dark alleys or other places that might attract the wrong sort of people. The wrong sort of creatures might also be said by those hardcore conspiracists. But truth to be told, there have been quite some missing persons reports saying that they just vanished into thin air, only to be found dead a few days later, their limp body drained from everything it had before tossed in every other garbage dump they could find. 

It’s the reason why people keep speculating about what might be the cause, thinking that it’s the work of other worldly being, like vampires or werewolves. However, there is no real evidence and there is also no one to question about the strange occurrences, seeing as the only thing they manage to find are the lifeless bodies of the death victims. 

And since the majority of the population is scared shitless of these weird incidents, the government put op several videos and informational texts that explain how the protect yourself and others. You would think that they would do something about the shady parts of the city, like put lanterns in the alleys or something, but no. Apparently they wish to spend our tax money on informational and inspiring posters instead of actually making it a safer place to life. Yay democracy…

Ace isn’t very interested in any of those conspiracies, it’s probably some serial killer or something. He’s strong, so Ace can take whoever wishes to attack him. Though the prospect of meeting a vampire would be kind of dope. The last few days Ace and his brothers spend a lot of time watching bad movies and most of those include vampire movies. Got him thinking about a lot of stuff and now he’s wondering how much it would hurt if he were to get bitten by one—and if it will turn him on like in that weird, semi pornographic movie they had to stop watching because Luffy isn’t ready for stuff like that. Note to self; read movie descriptions before watching with younger brother.

Moving back to the present, the alley is getting pretty dark. For a man that fears very little, Ace has to admit that this is a little scary. He can’t see far into the darkness, only that what’s close to him. Which isn’t much to begin with as he mainly spots walls and some garbage littering on the ground with pools of dirty rainwater. 

Then something catches his attention, he comes to a sudden halt as his head swivels around, trying to see where the sounds erupted from in the seemingly never-ending darkness. It sounded a little weird and he can’t quite understand what exactly he just heard. Maybe it was nothing and his tired mind is playing tricks on him.

Tentatively he takes a step forward, if he just tries to focus on getting out of this haunting place then everything will be fine. As Ace is about to take another step he listens to his surroundings, nothing could be heard. Good.

Before he could place his foot down to walk any further he heard it again. The shrill scream-like sound echoing through the empty alley with his body breaking the vibrations as he sticks out like a sore thumb. The hairs on his neck standing upright as a chill covers rigid body like a blanket, a cold and not comforting blanket that is.

Ace hold his breath. Anxiety gnawing at him because this is not what he signed up for. His silver eyes roam over the darkness, his mind working overtime as it finds shapes that might not even be there. Fuck this is not good. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before facing the dense blackness once again littered with ghastly faces. Okay, this is officially bad.

He hears it again. The shrill scream clawing its way into his head and Ace clamps his hands over his ears that feel as if they are bleeding, willing the sound away in a silent prayer. This time the scream sounded a lot more panicked than the last one and for some reason seemed to end faster, like whoever screamed was cut off. 

His curiosity gotten the better of him and with a racing heart he moves to where he believes the sound came from.

Maybe it’s someone who’s badly hurt and trying to call for help. Maybe it’s the serial killer trying to murder his next victim. Maybe it’s a vampire enjoying his next meal. And maybe Ace shouldn’t be here as he will end up as a new victim. 

His entire body shivered at the thought. He could handle a serial killer—probably—but a vampire is a different story. For now, he just tries to quell those bad thoughts away. Someone is hurt and he has to help whoever it is.

In the distance, around the corner, Ace can see a faint light as a flickering lantern illuminates a large dark shadow. His heart missed a beat upon seeing the sight, fear gripping him in a tight hold until he berates himself for being so weak-minded. It’s just a silhouette, doesn’t mean it something bad. Determined Ace takes a few steps closer to reach the unidentified mass of a shadow. The shallow light making it difficult to identify the creature and only adding more to his deafening heartbeat.

The reverberation of something nasty overthrows the sound of his own heart and heavy breathing, a wet smack of lips can be heard with something akin to a slurping sound and it confuses Ace even more. It isn’t until he’s face to face—or rather face to back—that he can see the scene unfold before him. 

It takes great willpower to suppress his startled gasp as lifeless eyes stare into his soul. The broad back, clad in dark clothes, having a strong hold on the body of a blond female. Ever so slowly she sags closer to the ground before the black-clad body lifts her up, bringing her ghostly pale body closer to its own.

Dark red liquid slides down an exposed chest and voluminous breasts before dripping on the stone ground to join in a medium sized puddle. The stale and metal scent of blood thickly hanging in the air and Ace covers his mouth before he could hurl at the bloody scene. The woman looks absolutely ravaged; clothes torn to expose her body along with the multiple scratch marks lining on the unhealthy pale skin.

Ace takes a step back. Fuck the fact that he’s fearless of all, there is no way he’s facing this monster tonight. Hastily but still trying to stay undetected he scoots back, his silver eyes trained on the, most definitely, vampire feasting on the woman’s blood. A screech of crunching plastic fills the air, momentarily breaking the sounds provided by the vampire that continues to suck every drop from the corpse. Ace is sure that his heart stopped beating at that moment, dread overflooding him as he wished the ground would swallow him whole.

The vampire doesn’t react to the crackling of plastic, favoring his meal above the intruder. In that moment Ace dares to look back at the offending piece of trash underneath his foot, debating how he should lift his foot without creating too much noise and silently cursing his bad luck today. 

Before acting, Ace figures it might be best to assess the situation, his silver eyes turning back to the…

“Well fuck me.”

The black-clad body is nowhere to be seen and only the lifeless shell of the woman is still present, lying in the middle of the bloody puddle and still staring at him. Franticly Ace looks around, he heard nothing that indicated the vampire left so it must be here, his eyes shoot in every direction to try and see through the darkness outside of the dim light. 

Why does today suck so hard. Why of all day did he had to take the alley to get home sooner. Why did he feel the need to be so desperate about saving someone and feeding his damn curiosity. Why couldn’t he just go home like normal.

A sudden gust of wind in his face along with a deep and sultry voice breaks Ace from his reverie. “Busted.”

His manliness be damned as a loud shriek escapes Ace, in his shock he bodily stumbles into the wall behind him with his backpack acting as a rough cushion. The offending piece of crackling plastic slipping from underneath his foot and shooting deeper inside the alley where Ace can’t see. 

And there he is, face-to-face with a real life vampire, no Hollywood editing or CGI stuff. A real one standing in front of him made off flesh and blood—do they have blood—and it’s face covered with the woman’s lifeforce. Mouth painted red and teeth, that are presumably white, stained in the same liquid as the vampire wears a toothy grin. Showing off those elongated fangs that is obviously no fake dental work. 

“And what do we have here?” The vampire hums. His icy eyes rooting Ace to the spot and in all this madness he feels intrigued by this, who appears male, vampire. The shade lightning making it hard to make out the man’s features but a light stubble, sharp jawline and blond hair can be seen. And while the man might look good—despite the blood clinging to him like a piece of clothing on humid day—this is no time to get sidetracked.

Ace makes an attempt to step to his side but the man follows his every step, making sure he stays within the same distance from him. A very unintelligible brabble of, “I uhh… I-I ahh…” is the only thing he managed to utter. His mind giving Ace a whiplash with how fast he keeps siding with his thoughts. Should he stay, because that man is attractive and maybe he could ask some of his questions on vampires. Or should he just _get the fuck away from here?!_ It’s a vampire for fucks sake, there’s little to nothing he can do to actually defend himself or run away for that matter.

A deep, soothing hum reaches his ears and brings Ace back to the present. “How dull.” The plump red-stained lips let a mournful sigh escape through them. “For a second I though tonight might be a little more interesting, but it seems not, yoi.”

Ace stares at the man completely dumbfounded, did he do something wrong? Was he supposed to scream like a damsel in distress or fight his way out? 

The vampire leans closer and seductively whispers against Ace’s ear, “Come on, not even a little frightening?” The man leans back enough to show his lesser red-stained fangs that could most definitely puncture his neck and leave a nasty wound in its wake. A small shiver shoots up his spine at the thought alone, both from excitement and fear.

Ace figures he has been quiet for far too long, his unintelligible brabbles not counting. “What are you?” Although he’s proud that his voice comes out so even, the fact that he asked such an obvious question makes him want to smash his head against the wall behind him.

A playful glint appears in those ice blue eyes along with something much more dangerous; it begs his body to just move and get out of this stranger’s face, but instead of listening to his instincts Ace stays rooted on the spot. He’s far too interested in these new ongoing events, curiosity getting the better of him.

The man leans in once more, his lips brushing against his ear and gaining an involuntary gasp from Ace. He imagined vampires would be cold to the touch, as they are like the living dead or something—another note to self; don’t believe everything they tell you on tv—but the feathery light touch against his ear feels like a fire is slowly spreading from the point of their contact throughout his entire body. 

Those entrancing lips trail lower to his neck, softly pressing against the skin as he moves down, and belatedly Ace takes note of his head shifting away to give the stranger more access to his frail neck.  
The man remains like this, body almost pressing against his own and a warm breath tickles against the exposed skin of his neck. Ace’s body shivers entirely as something wet and warm trails over his neck. “What do you think pretty boy?” His hand reaching out for the body pressing into him as a single fang teases the skin. The man drags it up and down, applying pressure but never enough to puncture his skin.

“A vampire.” Ace breaths, hating how weak his own voice sounds, so completely weak and lost. It’s not like he lost his will to live, but there’s something about this man that makes him want to surrender. Let him do what he wants and whatever the man chooses is bound to make Ace happy.

The deep and rich tones of an amused chuckle reverberate in his ear. “Look who’s a smart boy, yoi. Now them,” the man leans back and faces Ace, lips a breath away from his own and the pungent smell of blood reaches his nose once again. “What are you going to do about your new profound revelation?”

_Run!_ His mind screams at him. _Run and never look back!_ But yet he can’t push himself into action. A sick part of his brain wants to know more about this handsome vampire. And oh god, did he just call the vampire handsome… luckily it’s in the privacy of his own mind.

In lack of finding any proper response, Ace turns the conversation in another direction, “who’s the woman?”

The man turns his head to face his lifeless victim before showing a devious smirk to Ace. “Someone who doesn’t matter anymore, yoi.” Fingers graze his face, locking him in place as those red stained lips hover over his own. “Because I found someone of more interest.”

Ace is completely paralyzed as the vampire closes the distance between them, unable to grasp the situation. His mind tries to catch up as a tongue works its way into his mouth, the metallic tang of blood being smeared around his tongue. While feeling uncomfortable and apprehensive as he doesn’t know what’s going to happen, Ace can slowly feel himself get aroused.

His mind unable to fight his body as Ace responds to the kiss, tasting more of the vampire’s mouth as his tongue explores it eagerly. With every passing minute his mind goes blank and he let the man do as he pleases. Pale hands slide over his torso before they roughly massage the growing tent in his jeans.

“My, my. I didn’t even need to seduce you, seems like you’re more than ready for me, yoi.” A nip is just underneath his ear and Ace gasps. “I’m going to devour you, pretty boy.”

The sinful mouth is back on his own again and Ace loses his grip on reality. His own moves growing bolder as he grasps the well sculpted shoulders in a tight hold, his hips bucking into the hand that resumes its massaging movements on his bulge. Ace tries to understand what makes him do this, why he is so desperate to lay with a vampire and probably turn into his next meal.

But as his mind tries to tell him something, information that was once lost and hidden under a thick veil, it is lost in the waves of excitement that roll off his body. He’ll find out… sometime, now he’s a bit occupied.

Right now, all he wants is for this man to do what he wants and take him, as weird as that thought may sound. The man is bodily pressing him against the cold and damp wall, having thrown his backpack off without him noticing, and an involuntary moan leaves Ace at the sensation of the cold stones digging into his back. A solid chest keeps him in place and Ace can do little but accept what the vampire will give him. Pale hands slowly enter his pants and play with his cheeks, massaging it thoroughly before one slips to his front.

A growl resonates through the air, causing Ace to look around in a daze to determine where the sound may have come from. His mind is still overthrown by arousal and he never noticed that the hands in his pants slipped out and away. Ice blue eyes sternly look at him and instantly Ace’s mind clears of whatever fog was present.

Those intriguing blue orbs look away and the man mumbles something under his breath about this being the worst timing. Before Ace could ask the man anything, he faces back at Ace. “Seems that this will have to wait. Be a good boy and forget about tonight will ya, yoi.” A sly smirk plays on the man’s features and Ace feels thoroughly confused. 

A pale hand swipes at his mouth and before Ace can form any sort of complaint, the man leans in with a press of lips that causes Ace to close his eyes and relish in the feeling. The pressure is gone and as he opens his eyes again, so is the man. He’s met with the dark and empty alley again. No sign of the vampire ever being here safe for the blood staining the floor and his own arousal that’s still very present, something that’s slightly concerning.

Everything that just happened feels like a haze, like it never really happened and it was all just a dream. Confused and frustrated he picks up his backpack and makes his way back home. There are tidbits of information that make little to no sense and Ace feels extremely annoyed about the fact that he can’t figure out what exactly he’s missing.

By the time he finally arrived home it was very late, past seven and almost closing in on eight in the evening. How long did he spend outside? Sure, class was long today but he was done around five-thirty. Sabo and Luffy were already home when he steps into their modest apartment. His blond brother looking slightly worried as Ace walks into the living room, aiming to reach the kitchen for his late-night dinner.

“Where have you been? I’ve been calling you but you didn’t answer and there was no sign of you getting home after college. What the hell were you doing Ace?” Sabo furiously rants. The boy probably having pent-up frustrations from dealing with Luffy’s teacher.

“I-I… I’m sorry, I gotten a little sidetracked… I guess.” He wanted to tell what happened but if he himself doesn’t understand what’s going on, how could Sabo ever help him. Instead he settled for a sheepish smile and rubs the back of his head. Sabo seems to accept this as a semi adequate answer let it be, favoring to rant about the horrible school Luffy goes to and that idiot teacher.

And while Ace listened and give his own choice of words on appropriate times, his mind is still set on what happened in that alley. His memory an even greater fog now and the only thing he remembers is the mysterious man who kissed him. Why had he kissed Ace and why did Ace respond so well to that stranger?

Maybe after some well needed rest he might be able to figure out more details. He did decide to write down what happened today however, even if his mind is a bit foggy. If he were to forget completely then at least he has something to fall back to, even if Ace isn’t one for diaries.

He just feels like there is something every important going on and he needs to remember this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Found this one between my drafts and saw it was semi finished. I remember wanting to continue on this but not knowing how so I didn't post it in the end. But now I thought why not post it xD  
> This still might get a continuation, when I can actually think of a plot line for this fic.
> 
> For those observant readers; this is a soulmate fic. The general idea I had for this was that Marco and Ace had been bonded in a previous life or something and that their bond is the reason they have an unexplainable attraction to one another, which they both don't seem to understand in the beginning.
> 
> Hope you liked it! :3


	4. Forgotten [Marco/Reader]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years passed since they went to the island of Okuro. Ten years in which Marco never remembered to visit a certain person, a long forgotten memory in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request by Squidne.  
> Tags: reunion, slight angst, children, hurt/ comfort, fluff

Light blue sky holds a bright light that illuminates its surroundings beneath it. The lush forest swarms with greenery and animals alike while the small and cozy village remains a good distance away, not wanting to bother any of nature and wanting to preserve its natural state—also because forces that can’t be handled live between the calm looking trees.

The cobblestone and sandy roads create a more dated ambience while the homes of the townspeople and shops look recently renewed with new wood decorating each front. And despite all that, everything looks exactly the same as then years ago.

The old well in the middle of town along with the broken wooden bucket laying next to it, the fields with produce where workers are diligently working on, the small bakery with the unhinged sign on its front, the flower shop that displays a wonderful arrangement of colorful flowers. And in the faraway distance Marco can spot the flower fields lurking just behind the hill, exactly how he remembers it.

An odd sense of nostalgia floods over him as he walks the cobblestone streets, marveling at the town and everything that stayed the same or changed over the course of years.

This island and town are a part of their territory, but they haven’t been able to return here for a long time. Ten years that is. And Marco couldn’t help but feel exited at the prospect of returning when Pops announced he should head over there along with some members from his division.

His men are jovially talking along, greeting the townspeople with large grins and promises to come back later for a drink. Seems like Marco doesn’t need to entertain them after they finish their talk with the mayors of the island.

Which is a good thing because he has different plans when the formalities are finally over. The flower field behind the hill is his destination and he wants to see how much has changed in the years he hadn’t seen it. It always was a stunning sight to see.

“Commander Marco,” mayor Jarou, a small older man with grey hairs and a jet-black beard, greets before he nods towards his division members. “First division. Welcome back to the town of Hanasaku! It’s been a long ten years hasn’t it?”

“Indeed, it has,” Marco agrees with a lazy smile. “The pirate life isn’t an easy one, but now we’re here, yoi. What was it you wanted to discuss?” 

“Straight to business aye, I see you lot have quite the plans made to investigate this town once again.” Jarou laughs loudly before softly adding, “who wouldn’t with such a history.”

It was low enough that Marco didn’t overhear, only catching a bit of what the mayor said but ignores it in favor of starting the discussion they came here for.

Over the years the island of Okuro has been under attack. It’s nothing too bad considering the island and its people carry Whitebeard’s mark, but it’s getting a bit annoying for islanders. That is the reason why the different towns of Okuro have decided to call for reinforcements. Every town’s mayor gathered in Hanasaku and is patiently waiting for their arrival to discuss a way of dealing with the attacks.

Almost an hour later the meeting finished, however small talk is made and leads to Marco being more than up-to-date with the island and its inhabitants. It almost never happens that an island isn’t visited that often so he needs to make use of his time here now. That starts with getting to know more about the island and what happened during the past years.

Marco’s men already left the meeting room and are scattered around town, finding places to drink at and women to whoo. And as much as Marco likes to join in on that—it has been some time after all—he can’t just abandon his conversation with Jarou. He has a role to fulfil and he can’t drag both Pops’ and his name through the mud just because he’d like to do something else.

Another hour later he’s finally released from the mayor and his endless talk on the towns, island and its inhabitants. A well-deserved break is what he needs and there’s only one spot that can help him relax; the flower field.

Brimming with excitement, he makes his way towards the hill near the edge of town, greeting the townspeople along the way and stopping here and there to have a chat with some. Despite not showing their faces here for quite some time, everyone seems happy to see them and welcome them openly into their homes.

Marco has declined a few offers to join people for a drink, he has one goal in mind and that’s just behind the hill that’s so close within reach.

It may have taken him some time but he finally reached it. Vibrant colors shimmer in his eyes as the sun reflects them beautifully, making it appear as if the flowers are glowing brightly. Rows upon rows of different flowers stretch far and wide, making it seem as if Marco stands in and endless field of blossoming joy.

He takes a deep breath and relishes in the flowery scents being carried by the wind. If he remembers well enough; there should be an open spot nearby that allows him to sit without ruining any of the vibrant life around him.

Exactly how he remembers the spot, it remained. An open patch of grass amidst the colorful field, adding in the effect of being in an endless place filled with nothing but flowers. Memories surface from a long time ago as Marco takes a seat, basking in the serene atmosphere he finds himself in.

A woman, he remembers, young and exuberant as she skids through the field. Her laugh, childish yet sweet, filling the air in her walk through the flowers, hands holding up her fluttering dress.

  


/-/-/

_“What are you looking at?” A bubbly woman laughs, her voice soft and soothing to his ears._

_“You.”_

_A flush, one that matches the fiery red tulip next to her, frames her face and an awkward chuckle leaves her as she looks away._

_“Dork.” Her shimmering [h/c] hair dances in the wind as she turns back with an adorable pout._

_“Only for you, yoi.”_

_Brilliant [e/c] eyes look at him and a breathtaking smile spreads over her face. Giggling like a teenager she launces herself into his arms, linking her hands behind his head._

_“You’re silly. There’s no way you’re a part of their crew. A definite lie I tell you!” She preaches but the large smile playing on her soft lips tell him differently._

_“Then maybe I have to show you how horrible of a pirate I can be.” He murmurs in her ear._

_A shiver runs down her back and he can’t help the devious smile overtaking his face, pressing a gentle kiss against her temple even though his hands grab a handful of the woman’s backside through her dress._

_“Idiot.” Red-faced she laughs, but it doesn’t stop her from pulling him down with her. “Better take responsibility.” Her lips find his as they roll between the flowers._

_“Always, yoi.”_

/-/-/

  


With a start Marco shoots up, his eyes darting all over the place in search for the thing that woken him up from his slumber. He didn’t even notice he fell asleep, must’ve been the calm atmosphere that made him this relaxed.

His dream a distant memory as he tries to focus on the sound of pained cries, the thing that woke him up. With a grunt he stands up and scans the entire field, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary before his eyes land on that of a single figure. All bundled up and unmoving safe for the small rocking motions.

Cautiously he makes his way over, trying to discern what is going on until he recognizes the cries as that of a young girl. The doctor within him stirs and he walks over to the girl that lies on the ground, her hands wrapped around her knee and weeping softly.

“Are you alright, yoi?” Marco asks calmly as he kneels down beside the whimpering girl.

Visibly she jolts, startled by his sudden arrival. Her blue eyes wide and filled with shock as they stare into his blue orbs. Long [h/c] hair clings to her back and frames her delicate face. The girl is almost like an exact copy of a woman he knows so well and it shocks him momentarily.

Lost in his own world, he barely caught the girl’s weak reply of; “I’m okay, it’s nothing.”

Shaken from his inner turmoil, Marco focuses back on the girl. “Let me have a look.” And because the girl looks even more startled at his outstretched hand, he adds “I’m a doctor, yoi. I just want to make sure nothing’s broken or could get infected.”

Reluctantly she allows him to take a look at her knee. Nothing too serious he notes, appears to be a minor scratch and maybe a little bruising.

“You’re right, it isn’t that bad. What happened though?” He asks both to lift the tension as well as wanting to know how it happened, there isn’t much around that could cause this in the first place.

The girl points at the tree standing next to her. “One of the branches broke and I fell.” She explains like it’s a simple mundane thing that happens to everyone on a daily basis.

Marco looks up at the tree and instantly remembers it, a nostalgic smile tugs to his lips at the memory. 

  


_“Careful, this tree is old and will break any second!” She yelled from beneath, looking slightly terrified at Marco who easily climbed higher._

_“It’s fine. I can heal, remember?”_

_“Yes, until you break your neck, then the party’s over. Now get that feathery ass down here!” Her foot stomps on the ground like an impatient child that doesn’t get what it wants._

_“You’re not allowed to hang out with Thatch anymore, yoi.”_

  


His smile is still present as he turns to the girl again. “You should be more careful with that one, the tree is old and its branches easily break.”

Blue eyes that match his own shine with unknown emotions in them, something of familiarity but Marco can’t quite understand what she’s thinking off.

“My mum says the same thing.” It looks like she wants to say more but she doesn’t, leaving Marco hanging when she leaves it at that.

“Maybe you should listen to her a bit more, yoi.” He says with a lazy smile.

“You talk funny.” She changes the subject in a blink of an eye and Marco feels completely overwhelmed as he can’t keep up with her enthusiasm. “Your hair looks funny. What does ‘yoi’ mean? What’s that tattoo? Did it hurt? Where are you from? Do you like flowers?” It’s one question after another and Marco doesn’t know how to act, this is like his crew but ten times worse.

Another nostalgic smile makes its appearance. He remembers a certain someone who used to be exactly the same as the girl in front of him. In all honesty, she and the woman could easily be related as the girl looks like a splitting image of her. The only difference is the deep blue color of her eyes instead of the [e/c] ones and the lazy look the girl wears with ease. And of course, the fact that the girl is much younger than the woman he remembers.

Instead of answering any of her questions, Marco puts his focus back on the wound decorating her knee. Blue fire, highlighted with golden streaks, spread from his fingertips before it slides over the youngster’s knee. Faintly he hears a gasp of shock combined with a tug as she tries to move her leg away, but Marco doesn’t let her as he holds onto her leg.

As fast as his fire came, it left. Unblemished skin remains in its wake and making the wound look like a fake stick-on tattoo that fades with a single swipe of hand.

The girl stares in wonder, mouth hanging open as she keeps poking at her knee, marveling about the fact that the wound is gone and so is that pain.

“How did you do that?” She asks full of wonder, her blue orbs glistening with awe.

“That’s a secret, yoi.” Marco chuckles with a wink, causing an adorable pout to appear on the girl’s face.

“Mean.”

“What were you trying to do in the tree anyways?” Marco asks as he stands up, the girl following along with that motion if not a bit shaky due to her previous injury.

She looks a bit down and none of her earlier enthusiasm is there are she looks at him, her eyes looking sad and making her look much older than she really is. “Mom’s a bit down these days. Flowers cheer her up so I wanted the most beautiful ones. But it’s hard to see so I wanted to look from high.” Her explanation comes as a quick jumble of several words but somehow Marco managed to understand the gist of it.

“Then, shall we look for some flowers? I think she would appreciate it more if you stay in one piece by the end of the day.” Marco offers with a smile.

The girl faces him again, eyes wide with wonder before she breaks into a smile. “Really?”

“Yes, what kind of flowers did you want, yoi?” He looks over the field to check for anything in particular.

“[f/c] flowers! Mum likes [f/c], so anything with that color!” the girl cheers, clinging to Marco’s arm in the process.

He smiles down at her and directs her towards a spot that holds the same colored flowers, swaying in the gentle wind as the colorful petals collect every bit of sunlight. After a little while they gathered a nice amount of flowers and made it into a bouquet, filled with many different species and colors, but the most important ones are the ones with [f/c] petals.

Just as Marco is about to bid farewell and go his own way, the girl speaks up. “Will you come with? You helped picking the flowers and I wanna tell mum I met someone nice today.” Even if he dared to refuse, the large puppy eyes make it difficult to do so. 

Somehow, everything about this girl reminds him of _her_. She likes the same color and would always pluck any of the flowers resembling that color and tuck it in her hair. Her laugh matches the girl’s and so does almost everything she does. It puts Marco in a weird limbo of memories, ones that he vaguely remembers.

He agreed to come along but a part of him is anxious. If his speculations are true than the girl’s mother might be the woman he remembers. And honestly, he doesn’t know if he can handle seeing her happily married to some man right now. He doesn’t even fully remember her, the only thing he knows is that’s there’s something important there he should know but can’t recall.

But, he said he would join the girl and they already made their way back into town, the girl cheerfully holding onto the collection of flowers with a content smile on her face.

“Oh, oh, I forgot.” The girl’s voice breaks his looming worries for a moment as he looks down to her. “What’s your name mister? Mum said I have to introduce myself to strangers, but I forgot. I’m Sheila, nice to meet ya.”

Dumbfounded Marco stares at the girl before bursting into laughter, slightly startling Sheila. “Nice to meet you Sheila, I’m Marco, yoi.” He greets as his laughs slowly dies down.

“What does ‘yoi’ mean? Is your name Marco Yoi?” Sheila asks absolutely intrigued, her eyes displaying just how invested she is in getting to the bottom of this.

“Ahh, no not really. It’s more like a—”

“Sheila!” A worried screech of the girl’s name cuts him off.

“Mom!” Sheila calls after the woman and runs up to her, releasing Marco’s hand in the process. “Look, we got you some flowers.” A proud grin on her face as she presents the bouquet to her mother.

The mother has yet to look up but Marco recognized her instantly, how could he not. Her flowing [h/c] hair that looks soft to the touch, even after all these years. Her subtle lips that move around but he can’t hear the words falling from them, only remembering how much he loved to kiss them on a daily basis. Her gorgeous figure that doesn’t look like it aged a day since the last time he saw her.

“Marco?”

His daze breaks again and he stares back into the captivating [e/c] orbs that he fell in love with ten years ago.

Ten years ago…

He’s completely and utterly fucked…

“[y/n]…” He breaths, feeling like his windpipe collapsed and she stole all his air.

[y/n] turns to Sheila and tells her something, but it falls on deaf ears as Marco is lost on the woman in front of him. He did notice Sheila walking away but wasn’t able to focus on that.

“Why are you back?” Her voice is harsh and sounds impatient, matching her stance as she looks like she rather be someplace else.

“[y/n], I’m so sorry, yoi.” Marco rushes towards her but is stopped before he can even reach her.

What were once faint memories of lost days, are replaced with every little detail that was lost. He remembers the time they spend together and how much they both loved each other, the fun they had and things they did. But there’s one thing he recalls with clarity, just a few words that he never followed up on. 

  


_“I’ll be back soon my love.”_

  


It’s ten fucking years later… he messed up so badly.

“Sorry doesn’t answer my question Marco, why are you back?” [y/n] says slightly more annoyed than before.

“I uhh… we got a call, about the attacks that happened lately, yoi. We came and checked in with the mayor to make a plan of action.” He responds almost mechanical as his mind still overfloods with lost memories.

“So you thought it would be an appropriate thing to get closer to me by using my daughter?” Her voice sounds accusing and leaves Marco baffled.

“No! No, I would never do that, I didn’t even know. You’ll have to take my word for it [y/n].” Marco practically begs as she gives him the cold shoulder.

“Your word isn’t much to go by, now is it?” Ahh, that stings deep. However it’s well-deserved.

“[y/n], please hear me out, yoi. I never meant for it to happen.”

“Never meant for it to happen what? Convincing me to have a drink with you? Making me fall in love with you as we spend nearly every day together? Or was it the fact that you were never going to return after you left me all alone? You know— ” [y/n] raised her voice as the beginning of tears start to form in her [e/c] eyes. “If I was just another project to you, then leave, I have nothing more to share with you.”

Her face is sullen and she turns away, walking into the same direction he saw Sheila disappear to. Something within him snaps, he can’t just let her walk off like this. As fast as he can he walks over to her, stepping in front of her and pulling her into an embrace.

“I’m truly sorry [y/n]. I know it doesn’t mean much and I have no fair way of explaining why it happened, but I never meant for it to end like this, yoi.” His heart stutters a little as she reciprocates the hug, hands clinging to the fabric of his jacket. 

“You’re such an ass, you can’t just expect me to let it go after ten years. Jerk!” [y/n] moves back, releasing her hold on Marco and slaps him across the face. “That’s for leaving me the way you did.”

It didn’t really hurt, his devil fruit nulling the pain and all, but he still brings a hand up to his cheek. A little flabbergasted he looks at [y/n], feeling like there’s something there that he can’t get a read on.

“I deserved that.” He finds himself saying, still a little out of it.

[y/n] looks around for a moment, seeing a lot of the villagers gathered around to watch the spectacle. And in all fairness, if Marco wasn’t so out of it, he couldn’t agree more to that. After all, when will you witness the righthand-man of the Whitebeard pirates being slapped across the face by a simple woman. 

“Come on.” [y/n] sighs as she starts walking into the same direction as before and Marco finds himself idly following along.

A small yet comfortable home stands tucked away between two larger homes. Dated white wood covers the front with darker frames that hold sizable windows that display a warm glow coming from the inside. It’s almost exactly the same as ten years ago, only the inside has had a drastic change. But that’s understandable with the arrival of a kid.

A kid that appears to be around the age of ten… 

“[y/n].” Marco calls out to her just as they entered the home. Sheila stands in the garden and is playing with some toys, the bouquet neatly placed in a vase on the dining table.

“Sheila… is she mine?” He asks out loud, taken her curt nod as a reason to continue.

Shock overtakes her features as [y/n] faces him, her eyes darting around the place in search of something that might change the subject.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about Marco.” She replies, acting completely oblivious but Marco can see the sweat gathering on her temple.

“You know exactly what I’m trying to say [y/n]. Is she or is she not, yoi?” 

“I don’t think that’s an—”

“[y/n] is that my daughter or not?” Marco cuts her off, pointing in the direction of the playing girl. He didn’t mean to raise his voice like that but he couldn’t help it.

[y/n] remains silent but a small nod is enough of an answer for Marco to know the truth. It all makes sense now, why Sheila looked so familiar and how everything she did reminded him of [y/n]. Why Sheila’s blue eyes matched his perfectly, along with that lazy look. She’s his daughter. He has a daughter.

The reality of the situation dawns on him and he needs to sit down. Hands find their way into his hair as Marco tries to focus on his breathing. Devil fruit or not, he can still faint if he doesn’t breathe properly. 

He fucked up even more than he thought at first. A daughter. He has a fucking daughter that’s probably almost ten. Happiness, anxiety, relief, fear… they all swarm through his head. He isn’t sure how to feel right now but he knows he needs to do something, if not, [y/n] will push him away, and she has every right to do so.

Weakly he looks up, staring straight at [y/n] who has all her focus on her daughter, _their_ daughter. Such a weird thought that he’s a father, has been one for the past years but just never knew.

“I found out just after you had left.” [y/n] breaks the impending silence. “I never wanted to take her away, she’s proof of our love after all. I just… I hoped that when you’d come back it would’ve been a nice surprise. When you set foot on Okuro, you’d see the baby bump or even see her as a newborn.”

[y/n] holds her gaze towards the window, watching Sheila as she plays with the wooden toy ship.

“I longed for the days you’d come back, that you’d be here for her birth, that you could name her with me. But you didn’t… you didn’t return, so I kept hoping and thinking it would take a little longer.”

Her attention returns to Marco and he swallows heavily at the broken look in her [e/c] eyes.

“Years passed and passed and they just kept on passing, but not you. Everyone had told me to give up and go on alone, find myself a new man that isn’t a pirate and start a family. And despite all that, a part of me didn’t want to give up. I didn’t want to believe that all your words meant nothing, that those days we shared were meaningless to you.”

She takes a breath but it sounds more like a muffled sob than anything else as [y/n] tries to collect herself again. “That you didn’t love me.” A mere whisper, barely audible in the ongoing sounds from the outside, but Marco heard it.

“I did, I still do, yoi. It’s just… I’m not sure myself what happened during those years. But I never intentionally kept you waiting.”

“I stopped waiting years ago Marco.” Those words hang heavily in the air and he’s almost afraid to ask his next question.

“So, you’ve found someone new?” It’s unfair how his voice breaks at the end. Completely unfair towards [y/n], she had to deal with all of this by herself because the dad was playing pirate someplace else. But he can’t help but feel hurt at the thought that he might be replaced by some other man. That his role as father is lost.

“No.” [y/n] sighs tiredly. “I haven’t met someone new. I need someone who can be there for both Sheila and me, not there just to get something out of me.”

The implications at that gain a low growl from Marco. If he ever finds out who decided to use [y/n] for their own personal gain, no matter what that was, he’s going to hunt them to the end of the world before slowly killing them.

“You be careful, just because I let you come inside doesn’t mean you’re in the safe. You’re still in the same street as they are so watch your tone oversized chicken.”

“I thought I told you not to hang out with Thatch, yoi.” Marco sighs slightly incredulous.

“What you say and what I do are different things.” [y/n] shrugs indifferently. “Besides, Thatch makes for fun entertainment while cooking.” In the entire time Marco saw her, this is the first time a small smile blossoms on her face.

“I bet he does.” Marco smiles along, happy that she’s showing to be more comfortable around him.

“Why didn’t you return?” Her voice soft once again as all previous happiness seems washed away, a somber and lonesome look on her face.

It hurts his heart to see her like this, to see the woman he fell in love with so broken, all because of his stupid actions. A little apprehensive he stands up and walks over to her, bringing her in a hug once more. He doesn’t say anything, just holding on to her close and allowing her to release her pain. She sobs into his chest, crying softly as her hands wrangle themselves into his jacket and his heart breaks. 

Minutes pass and [y/n] remains clutched to his chest, however her sobs have quieted down. Sheila runs into the home and startles Marco; his entire focus was on [y/n] and trying to comfort her. 

“Is mum alright?” Sheila asks, visibly worried as her mother almost hangs into the arms of someone she doesn’t know that well.

Marco takes a look down to see that the [h/c] haired woman has fallen asleep, probably too worked up with all her emotions. A tender smile tugs on his lips, she used to be so adorable when she slept, but it seems that fact never changed. 

“I think she’s just a little tired, yoi. I’ll just let her sleep it off on the couch.” Marco says as he picks [y/n] up, carrying her towards the couch and softly laying her down. Sheila runs up with a blanket and throws it over her mother, to make sure she’s warm she said. 

Marco planned on leaving after he let [y/n] rest in peace, but Sheila had other things in mind. The girl claimed she was hungry and since her mother couldn’t cook, she asked if Marco could. A bit reluctant he agreed, throwing worried glances in [y/n]’s direction but she remained fast asleep. 

That’s how he ended up in the kitchen, one he remembers from years ago and didn’t change all that much. He finds his way through the cupboards easily and whips up a simple curry dish, seeing as those are the first ingredients he could find. 

“Why do you know where everything is?” Sheila asks him as he’s slicing vegetables as the meat is simmering in the pan. 

His only response is a questioning hum, not fully understanding her question as he focused on the meal. “You found everything in the kitchen without my help, the other men couldn’t find anything without my help.” 

Mid-slice Marco stops, his grip on the handle tightening. He knows it’s not fair and he can’t think like that, but a part of him really hates the idea of [y/n] having been with other men. However, he knows he can’t scare off a child because of his own stupid ego, especially not since it’s his child. Instead he takes a few calming breaths before he turns to Sheila.

“Your mom and I know each other, we used to be very close.” He doesn’t feel like he should say anything more, it’s not his place to tell the girl that he’s her father. [y/n] can decide if she ever finds out or if he will remain a random man in her life forever.

What Marco didn’t expect is for Sheila to grow so ecstatic, she bounces on the tile floor and once more smothers him with several questions at the same time. This time he doesn’t ignore her, while he tries to focus as much as possible on what he’s cooking, he answers every silly question Sheila throws at him. 

By the time the curry was almost done and ready to be served, Marco answered all questions Sheila asked, even the ones that made absolutely no sense. He let her set the table while he served the curry, making sure to keep a plate for [y/n] for when she would wake up. 

But what Marco didn’t know, is that someone was watching his interactions with Sheila. A proud smile takes over her features as she looks towards the two people that hold a certain importance in her life. Despite Marco having left for so long, whatever his reason might be, she can’t help but feel her heart warm up at the sight of him. She still loves him even though she said to forget about him. 

Marco’s eyes land on her figure and while he looks a little startled, a gentle smile spreads over his face as he sees her loving look. “I saved you some curry, yoi.” He shows her the plate with her portion, nicely decorated even though it’s just curry with rice.

[y/n] doesn’t say much more as she walks over to them, taking a seat next to Sheila at the dining table. They enjoy their meal in silence while Sheila retells her adventures of the day, even including falling down the tree and having Marco use his ‘magical blue flames’ to make the wound disappear. 

After dinner they washed the dishes together and played one of Sheila’s favorite games before [y/n] told her to go to bed. Time had been ticking by and it was quite late already. Although Sheila put up a bit of a struggle, she did eventually go to her room, after hugging Marco and thanking him.

“She’s taken quite a liking to you.” [y/n] smiles as she watches Sheila disappear towards the stairs.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been questioned that much in my entire life, yoi.” 

They both laugh before falling in a comfortable silence. [y/n] stands up from the armchair she sat on and walks to Marco, sitting down on his lap sideways. Without overthinking it, Marco wraps his arms around her waist and hold her close. He has missed this, missed how comfortable and pleasant it feels with her around.

“You haven’t answered my question though.” The look in her eyes forlorn and it makes his heart clench again.

It takes him a moment before he remembers which question she meant before he can settle on the most obvious one. “I’m still not sure myself.” He buries his face into her [h/c] locks, nuzzling his nose against her neck as he finds to right words to say.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to come back, I just…” a rueful sigh “…I think it slipped my mind, as stupid as it may sound, yoi. After we left so many things happened and my role as first division commander just kept on growing. And I know it’s just a poor excuse for leaving you here alone for ten years but… it was never my intention to drop you like this, leaving you behind pregnant even though I didn’t know. I wanted to come back but with the amount of pressure it slipped away.”

Marco doesn’t say anything else; he knows he shouldn’t say any more. It’s a bad excuse and an even worse explanation. He doesn’t deserve a second chance, as much as he would love to. But the only thing he can do is wait for [y/n] to say something and probably send him away.

“For Whitebeard’s righthand-man and first division commander, that’s a piss poor excuse you got going there Marco.” Her tone slightly agitated but she remains on his lap. “So the woman you fell in love with is worth nothing if your life as a pirate acts up?”

“That’s not—”

“It sure seems that way Marco.” [y/n] turns to face him, unshed tears cling to her lashes. “Even if I forgive you for forgetting about me, let you come into our lives and give you the role as father… you won’t stay, will you?” It’s more of a statement than a question.

He knows, no matter how much he would want to be back with her and live together with their daughter, he can’t ignore the call of the sea. He’s lived most of his life out on the vast blues and worked with his dorky siblings for as long as he can remember, he can’t just push that all away for a family life like this one.

The remorseful look in his eyes is enough to set [y/n] off, she moves to straddle his legs and clamps her hands down his shoulders. “Then let us come with, we can be together that way.” Her eyes look frantic and pleading.

“[y/n] I can’t do that, yoi. Not only would I be putting your life in danger, I can’t make myself do that to Sheila.”

“Then what, is this over again? Sheila will never know about her real dad and you forget about us?” There’s a crackle in her usually soft voice that tugs on his heartstrings, he really can’t watch her fall apart like this.

“I’m a well-known pirate now, I can’t have people knowing I have a family.” 

“So this is goodbye?” Her voice breaks this time and the unshed tears stream down her face.

Making [y/n] release his shoulders, Marco brings her against his chest for a hug. Again he buries his face in her [h/s] [h/c] hair and places a soft kiss against her temple. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” No sobs can be heard but her voice remains broken.

“No as in, this isn’t a goodbye. I’ll keep you two a mystery to the rest of the world, even if I die trying, because I can’t handle the idea that you two get killed because of me, yoi. I want to be able to come back here and see both my wife and daughter, to be able to watch Sheila grow up and scare away any potential boyfriends because they don’t deserve someone as beautiful as her. I want to be able to hold you and love you till the end of my time and beyond.” Slowly he pulls away to look [y/n] in the eyes. “If I’m allowed.”

“When did you get so cheesy.” [y/n] laughs as tears continuously slip down her face. “You better keep that promise or I’ll be the one to end your time.” She was never able to properly respond to any of Marco’s sweet words, turning into a blushing mess or acting evasive, but this is her best attempt at telling him he has a second chance.

Smiling Marco leans in for a kiss, one [y/n] responds eagerly to. His heart might leap from his chest with how hard it’s beating, extremely elated to have the woman of his dream back. He knows well enough to not mess it up this time, because not only will he lose the woman he loves, he will lose his daughter as well.

A tad breathless they part, staring lovingly into the other’s eyes before something seems to dawn upon [y/n]. “Wait, I’m not your wife.” Her brows are furrowed in an adorable way and Marco can’t help the smile that spreads over his lips.

“Looks like I have to change that, yoi.” His smile grows more devious as a flush claims her cheeks and [e/c] orbs stare at him in bewilderment.

“Dork.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6293 words... it ended up a lot longer than I anticipated xD  
> But, I had a lot of fun writing this. Had quite a lot of ideas and my original idea wasn't going to have an happy ending, but then I got sad and changed it xD  
> I forgot to ask if you wanted a specific gender for the kid, so I just went with something I thought would be fitting. I hope you and the rest that reads this liked it :3


	5. Royal [Marco/Ace]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the arrival of unknown guests and promise for an arranged marriage; Marco finds who he truly loves, along with something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request by: 20thCentury_Girl  
> Tags: Middle Ages AU, slight angst, arranged marriage, implied homophobia, sassy Whitebeard, forbidden love (sort of)

“Prince Marco?”

The questioning voice is from one of the castle’s staff. Marco turns to him, placing down his quill in the process. He had been working on several ideas that the kingdom might benefit from, and to make sure he wouldn’t forget about any of his ideas, he decided to write them down. Well, as much as possible before he got interrupted.

Not that is matters a lot to Marco honestly. He might be a Prince, next in line to lead the kingdom of Sphinx, but that doesn’t mean he acts better than those below him. 

“How many times to I need to tell you, yoi.” The servant slightly stiffens his serious tone. “Just call me Marco, you don’t need to use formalities with me Ace.”

The servant, Ace, is a young boy somewhere in his early twenties. Supporting small, dark freckles on his face that is framed by his dark locks that lie unruly on his head. He’s a total difference from most of the staff they have here at castle Moby, but Marco doesn’t mind. It’s refreshing to have such a young force in their castle to brighten things up, he spreads joy and laughter to those around him.

‘Saved from poverty and given a home’. That’s what the nobles of the kingdom say whenever they see Ace or any of the other staff that work and live at the castle. The reigning King, Edward Newgate, is known for taking bastards and peasants from the streets, providing them with a home if they are willing to work. 

Some say he’s a slave driver, forcing the weaker to work under him, but that’s far from the truth. Because in all honesty, King Edward wants nothing but the best for his people, that includes those that work as staff in the castle. Those that he find are without a home and on the brink of becoming criminals, he provides them with a place to call home and gives them a purpose. Those that come to work at castle Moby aren’t here to be treated as slaves, they are given opportunities to grow into the world and make something of themselves.

Ace used to be one of those beings, growing up without parents and raised by bandits. King Edward had found him when the boy tried to steal from him, something that didn’t end successful as the older man noticed. Marco remembers exactly what his father told him about the boy when he brought him back to the castle.

_“He’s a sweet kid, just a little lost on reality. Be kind to him and show him the ropes, I’m sure we’ll all come to love that fiery brat.”_

His father couldn’t be more right; Ace is a beacon of light in their lives. While he might have his episodes from time to time and has serious anger issues, he will always bring a smile to those around him. Something that Marco adores about the boy who acts fidgety around him.

“Prince, your bath’s ready. Prince Izo told me to come and fetch you.” Ace explains as politely as possible, however his voice betrays him.

Despite the training he received, talking properly is still a bit of a struggle. He tries his hardest, but you can always hear a bit of a strain on his voice when he does. Not that it bothers Marco in any way, if only it gives the boy more character. It adds to his unruly hair and bash personality. For Marco, that’s what makes Ace, Ace.

“Thank you Ace.” He decides not to mention anything about the part where Ace refuses to call him by name, clinging onto the title for some reason.

Slowly Marco gathers his things, placing them in a safe spot so he can work on them later. As he’s done and his desk is free of any papers, he walks towards the door where Ace remained, unmoving and watching his every move with interest.

“Prince Izo said—” he quickly cuts himself off as Marco gives him a pointed look, quirking his eyebrow in question. “Izo said: ‘he can’t drag his nasty ass into the meeting, take him to a bath’. His words, not mine.” Ace tried again, this time not getting interrupted.

When Ace talks in his own way, not a forced polite way, it feels more natural to be around him. Like he isn’t trying to live up to some expectation and just being himself. Something Marco prefers a lot more over the forced and poor, acting Ace does.

At the mention of his brother, a smile tugs to Marco’s lips. They like to act like uncultured idiots from time to time, not using proper ways of addressing to one another. But that makes living inside castle walls much more fun, so Marco doesn’t mind.

“I see, thank you Ace.” Marco didn’t miss the light flush that claims the younger boy’s face, highlighting his freckles. He still has a problem with receiving compliments and it gives the cutest of reactions.

They reach the room used for bathing; a well-sized room that holds a few baths large enough to fit several at the same time. Calming scents of Camille and herbs fill Marco’s nose as he watches how the steam slowly rises up.

Ace had left Marco to his own account, parting ways just as he had entered the room. Quietly he undresses before sliding into the bath containing soothingly warm water as well as pleasant and relaxing smells. It’s not like he needs Izo to remind himself for taking a bath, but he’s still happy his brother told him to.

Some time today a meeting is supposedly held, however Marco has no clue what for. Usually the King, his father, notifies him of all meetings, no matter how trivial they turn out to be. The only thing his father requested is that he is to join because his presence is important, but that’s all he knows. And that slightly bothers him. He can’t understand just why his father wouldn’t explain why he’s needed in the meeting.

Not even the calming scent of Camille is able to help Marco fully relax. Grumbling lowly he washes himself off, wondering what today’s meeting will be about. By the time he’s nearly finished and dressed in the clean clothes that sit nearly folded on a table, Ace walks into the room to call for him.

Unfortunately Marco wasn’t completely covered up, he was just about to put his underpants on when Ace walked in. Greeted with such a sight, Ace immediately turned beet-red and promptly faced the other way, stuttering an apology. 

“I-I’m sorry P-prince. I didn’t mean to, please excuse my… my… uhh…” Ace talks so fast that Marco can barely catch it, hearing a fluster of words instead of a normal sentence.

“Ignorance, yoi?” Marco fills in with a smirk, it’s too cute when Ace acts all flustered.

“Yes! Please ignore my ignorance, I should’ve knocked my Prince.” He holds his head low while facing away, but Marco can still see the remains of a blush in the boy’s neck.

It’s rather adorable to see Ace get this flustered, and luckily for Marco, he’s the only one who gets these reactions from the boy. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t interested in Ace. But more than not Marco knows that he can’t force Ace to do something he doesn’t want. It also goes against his own principles, so he likes to keep his interest towards the freckled boy to himself. 

“It’s fine Ace, nothing happened. Now what did you need from me?” 

Marco was focused on closing the last buttons of his tunic, embroidered with the kingdom’s weapon, but in the corner of his eye he caught sight of Ace carefully turning around. His dark eyes sweep over Marco before he turns to face the Prince, looking rather relieved.

“King Edward had requested your…” mid-sentence he stops, looking deep in thought. “King Edward asked me to come get you, the meeting’s about to start.” The smile on Ace’s face is enough to make Marco snort, he looks so happy with himself that it’s utterly adorable. 

“Then please, lead the way, yoi.” 

Ace gives him a nod before turning to the door, holding it open for Marco as he patiently waits for him to walk through. Without another word Ace leads Marco towards the throne room, presumably where his father and company are waiting for him.

“I thought the meeting wasn’t about to start anytime soon.” Marco decides to make some conversation, sensing that Ace looks somewhat put off.

“Bay thought so too, but she went with it and welcomed them anyway. Edward invited them to the throne room for a drink until you would be done with your bath, but they kept pestering him for you to join.” Ace responds monotonously, holding on to that lingering annoyance and forgoing all manners and use of titles.

“I see.” Marco drawls, growing more curious about the meeting. “Anything else I should know?”

“I don’t like them. They are stuck-up and prudish, acting like they own the place and they’re better than all of us.” Ace rambles with a low growl, looking more agitated with each spiteful word. Until he remembers something. “Wait, I mean… I didn’t—”

With wide eyes he stares back at Marco, his earlier annoyance nowhere to be seen as he looks worried. Instead of reprimanding him for his way of talking, Marco just smiles. “It’s alright Ace, how much more do I need to remind you, yoi.”

Warily Ace nods, putting his focus back on getting Marco to the throne room. Marco feels like he should say something to make the boy feel a bit better, but he’s too caught up in what Ace actually said. If Ace doesn’t like someone that usually means they aren’t good people, so Marco can’t help but wonder what his father is up to.  
Upon reaching the throne room, Ace bids him farewell before disappearing to some part of the castle.

Marco takes a deep breath before pushing the large doors open, revealing his father, a few people he can definitely classify as nobles along with guards, both their own as from the guests. With a slight bow he greets the guests, but overall aimed to reach his father first.

“You called father?”

“Yes my boy, please take a seat.” His father’s voice rumbles loudly through the large echoing room but for Marco it feels comforting.

A large, long table is filled with an arrangement of different meals, fruits and wine. The King seated at the head of the table where he can overlook everyone present, the guests occupy the free chairs placed for them. Marco takes the chair near his father, eying the nobles with interest.

He’s sure to remember them from somewhere, but he can’t figure out from where. There are so many different nobles after all and he can’t possibly remember everyone just from face alone.

“My son, Marco,” his father starts, gaining his full attention as well from the nobles. “You must remember our friends from Impel Down, part of the large kingdom of Mary Geoise.”

Marco nods along, suddenly remembering them to be from one of the largest kingdoms of this land. Mary Geoise is also called the holy land, or sacred land; there where the Gods reside and bring judgement upon each. Something Marco doesn’t truly believe in, for all he knows the truth about the so called holy land.

Mary Geoise holds several large kingdoms under its wing, going around to claim more with each passing day to expand their own. Small towns and villages are made a part of the ever growing kingdom without a fight, all know they don’t stand a chance against a kingdom that large. But those that deal with any of the kingdoms part of Mary Geoise, end up miserable. Supplies are raided and people claimed, the land and produce becomes a part of the castle in Mary Geoise and farmers don’t have enough to sell to townspeople. 

Of course there are some that are treated well and have their own freedom, but most deal with taxes so high none can afford it.

But despite his prejudice against the lands of Mary Geoise, he managed a fake smile as he welcomes them. “Of course I do, who could ever forget about such well-known lords. I welcome you all at castle Moby.”

The nobles present seem to buy his fake excuse of politeness and start a conversation with the King. Silently Marco sighs, relieved that he doesn’t need to lead with discussion in any way.

Everything discussed doesn’t even apply to him and he wonders why exactly his father had asked him to be here. From the looks of it, the old man can deal with this on his own and appears not to have any qualms in dealing with this folk.

Only when the nobleman brings up the subject of expanding, Marco tunes in again. He takes another good look at the nobles seated at the other end of the table, taking in their appearance just a he remembers something of importance.

These aren’t just any nobles from Impel Down, these are the King and Queen of the castle, along with what Marco can only guess is their daughter. He’s taken aback for a moment, wondering how he didn’t notice that until now. Worriedly he looks at his father, who shoots him an equally worried look back, making Marco more anxious.

“Come on old friend, joining under the protection of Mary Geoise will only benefit you, accept the proposal and give your people more freedom.” King Magellan, a large man with black hair styled in twin-tails who wears a never-fading grimace, explains to his father. He knows well enough to use the things that King Edwards hold high.

“I think your arrogance is blinding you my friend. Do you not see that this is no choice for me or you to make, there are two others involved in this that have a right to speak their mind.” Edward grunts, looking a little vexed but masking it under a fake smile.

“Ah, how could I forget.” King Magellan laughs, turning in his seat to face his daughter. “Domino, I think there’s someone you’d like to meet.”

Marco sits perplexed, he had a feeling what’s going on but a part of him hopes that he’s wrong. He looks towards his father, needing the man that has taken care of him for years to tell him his thoughts are wrong. But his look speaks volumes and freezes Marco on the spot.

This wouldn’t be the first time for others to try and marry into their family, but all of the previous people didn’t get this far, already declined before they could enter the castle. Yet somehow they got in and his father seems to know exactly that this was coming. Which worries him even more, why wouldn’t his father say something and let him get married with someone he doesn’t even know.

In all these years Edward said that they get to choose their own lives, that if they wish to marry someone they could and arranged marriages wouldn’t be a part of their lives. Yet here he is, about to get married off into a family he doesn’t want to be a part off and a woman he doesn’t even like.

“How about we give the two of them a little time after you’ve taken a rest. I can only imagine how tiresome that trip must’ve been. One of the staff shall lead you to your rooms and our children have all day to get to know one another.” King Edward quickly breaks in before King Magellan can send his daughter to Marco, who remains frozen to his chair. 

Albeit a bit reluctantly, the King and Queen agree and follow the Steward, Bay, to their rooms. Marco could see Domino looking to him as she walked out of the room, unable to decipher the look in her eyes. 

As soon as they left the room his father turns to him, looking extremely guilty. “I’m really sorry Marco, I should’ve told you earlier.”

“Why did you agree to this, I thought you weren’t going to force us into a marriage, yoi?” Marco asks near hysterical; he can’t just get married like this.

“I won’t and I’ll never allow that to happen to any of you, however I can’t ignore their threat to my people. Marco, believe me when I say that I’m not happy with this.” His father’s voice booms through the large room, bouncing off the walls and reverberating endlessly, and for once it isn’t comforting to hear.

“But you still agreed to their proposal!” He nearly screeches, modesty be damned, he’s too upset to care about that.

“I haven’t agreed to anything, don’t think that low of your father.” King Edward’s voice grows louder with annoyance, immediately stopping Marco in saying anything further. “Don’t think for even a second that I don’t put you and your brothers’ wishes before all. I had no choose in this matter Marco, the only thing I could do was to alter their proposal.”

Anxiously Marco looks up, wondering what his father changed in the proposal. “There will be no marriage if one of both parties isn’t interested in the other—”

Before his father could say anything more Marco cut him off. “Then there will be no marriage, I’m not interested in—”

“—but there shall be made effort.” Edward cuts in again. “From both sides.” 

Miffed he looks away, annoyed beyond reason that he’s forced to act civil towards a girl he’s not even interested in. “Then why me?” He asks after a moment of thought.

“They requested you.” His father simply answers. “All your brothers are either married themselves, found someone to spend the rest of their days with or are too young for marriage. You’re my only son they could request, that’s why it’s you Marco.” The pained look in his father’s eyes isn’t helping in his predicament.

“But what if I do, yoi?” Marco asks in a small voice, feeling lost himself. “What if I found someone I want to spend my time with?” He voices a little clearer, looking up at his father and King with determination swirling in his blue eyes.

“I’m sorry son, I can’t change the proposal.”

That wasn’t what he wanted to hear, not at all. Defeated he walks out of the room, aiming to get to his personal chamber and wait until this nightmare ends. He knows that with the apparent threats they gave he should accept; it would only be beneficial his kingdom. But the thought of marrying a woman he barely knows just doesn’t sit right with him. 

He hadn’t even thought about marriage, to him it was something that’s not important. The only thing he did envision was that when he would finally meet the one, he would marry them, not someone through an arranged marriage.

  


— **O** — 

  


Half a day. It was only half a day that Marco could enjoy some peace before running into his inevitable future. 

Domino had taken a seat in the garden, looking over the greenery mixed with vibrant colors of flower petals, when he walked by. She didn’t even bother to get up and go towards him, just sitting on the bench with an air of importance around her. It immediately ticked Marco off.

Yet he still walked up to her, he had a duty to fulfil after all. “Good afternoon Domino, how are you liking your stay here?”

“Better than I expected, I was worried for the quality considering your castle hold so many residents.” Her voice sounds as indifferent as she looks.

Marco wants to say so many things, would love to lash out for once, but he can’t, it could ruin their peaceful kingdom. Instead he takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before saying something else to the disinterested blonde.

“Despite the size we tend to make sure our—”

“Why are you making this difficult?” She cuts him off with a serious look.

“What?” 

“Just accept the proposal and everything will work out fine. If you’re going to keep us waiting it will only add to your sentence.” Domino lifts herself up with elegance, such as is expected from a woman her stance. Critically she stares him down, glaring could one even call it.

Marco’s mood switches instantly, feeling annoyance creep up as he fights to remain calm. “We’re not obliged to take on your offer.” He wants to say more, so much more than those words, but he doesn’t, it’s better to keep to himself. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.”

He knows it’s not proper of him to walk away without hearing her say goodbye, but he couldn’t care less. Maybe if he can get to his room he can form some sort of plan that will help his kingdom while at the same time he can get rid of those obnoxious people.

Marco rushed towards his chambers, not taking into account that others reached out to him. He’s set on one thing and one thing only; his brothers could wait a bit. Thatch and Izo had come by earlier when he locked himself away after the meeting. One of the guards had told them of what happened and they wanted to speak with him, try and lift his spirits even though they knew it didn’t really work. 

As soon as the doors fell shut behind him, he walked over to his desk and pulled out his journal. Over the years he took notes of anything that he found interesting and might come in handy one day, and hopefully today was such a day. 

He had been so focused that he didn’t hear the knock, nor did he hear the doors opening and closing again. His journal is full of random information and he needs a critical eye to scan over each page, skimming the text, sometimes neatly written and sometimes messily. He’s about to turn the page as he found something that might be of interest, his entire focus on his poorly written handwriting.

A hand appears out of thin air and touches his shoulder, causing for an unmanly shriek to leave Marco.

“I’m so sorry Marco, I didn’t mean to… you were so hurried before, I thought something happened.” Ace quickly explains, looking a little startled himself but refuses to let go of his shoulder.

Seeing as there’s no treat Marco let his head fall on his journal, sprawled open on his desk due to his scare, one hand pressing against his chest where his heart is still thundering wildly.

“Ace… it’s just you, yoi. I didn’t hear you come in, sorry if I scared you.” He looks up to look at the raven-haired male, smiling weakly to the startled boy’s face.

“I think it’s more like the other way around.” Ace mumbles with a faint blush but seems to recover quick. “What were you doing anyway? It’s not like you to be that absorbed into something.” He eyes the journal on Marco’s desk a little warily, probably wondering if he might get sucked into it as well.

“Trying to find a way out.” Marco sighs, closing his journal and moving from the chair to his bed.

Ace lets go of his shoulder and stood utterly confused by his desk, his face scrunched up adorably with knitted eyebrows and a touch of pouty lips. “Why do you wanna go, I thought you love this place?” The exact same confusion on his face is noticeable in his voice, making Ace sound like he isn’t certain of himself.

“I like you better when you talk normally, why do you put so much effort in acting the same as the rest of the staff, yoi?” A smile spreads over his lips as Ace’s earlier blush returns, slightly more evident than before. 

“I… no, that’s not— why? I mean,” Ace stops his ramble to take a deep breath; collecting himself. “I just want to prove my worth to you guys. You’ve been kind to me even though I wanted to leave and even threatened to behead the King. But what’s not what I asked you Marco.”

Marco smiles fondly at Ace; the boy grew so much during his stay at the castle. His days of threatening the King and trying to get his hands on new weapons are over, and Marco can barely recognize the man before him. He really has matured so much.

“Take a seat Ace.” He pats the empty space next to his, inviting the raven-haired male to join. Ace does so, a little apprehensive and worried looking, but he takes a seat next to Marco, holding on to that flush.

“What’s wrong?” Ace asks nervously, looking like a child that’s caught with his hand in the cookie jar, as if he isn’t allowed to sit this close to Marco.

The fond smile on his face slowly diminishes as Marco starts telling of what happened in the throne room. He told to Ace who the visitors from Impel Down are and why they are here, about the treats that have been made and the reason why the King couldn’t decline the offer. He also told Ace about Domino and her cold behavior towards him, about how she wants him to stop struggling and just accept the proposal.

In all honesty, Marco shouldn’t really be telling his staff about things like these, but he doesn’t care. Ace isn’t staff for him, he’s much more and right now that’s all Marco needs. He wants to throw out his worries to someone who stands far away from things like these, someone with a different vision than those that are raised within castle walls.

He was just about to start explaining his plan on finding something that might get him out of this marriage proposal when something caught him off guard. That something is Ace who flings himself into his lap and presses their lips together, making Marco stare wide-eyed into his closed ones.

As Marco is just in the right of mind to respond to Ace’s sudden kiss, the boy leans back. His dark eyes stare into Marco’s blue ones with so many emotions that Marco has trouble understanding what’s going on.

“Ace, what—”

“I’m sorry Marco.” Ace roughly collides his forehead with his collarbone, making the blond groan at the unpleasant feeling. “I know this is selfish but I can’t help myself. I only heard married and I got scared, I don’t want to lose you Marco.” Ace presses his face entirely against Marco’s chest, his voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

The boy’s slightly tanned arms wrap around his waist, his hands burying themselves in his neat shirt. “I don’t want you to go somewhere else, you’re always so nice to me.”

A little perplexed Marco tries to let everything sink in, wondering what is real and how much of it was a daydream. Because it must be right, he can’t really have Ace on his lap. His hands slide over the younger’s back and prove that in fact this is true, something that Marco takes advantage of as one of his hands move to Ace’s hair, stroking through the dark locks.

“I’m not leaving Ace; I will stay here. But I’m not the only one who’s nice to you, Haruta and Thatch love to play games with you and Jozu is even teaching you self-defense, yoi. Everyone here cares for you.” He tries to reason, pressing his cheek against Ace’s stark-black hair. 

“But you’ll be married.” Ace argues back, his voice a little whiney. “You’ll be hers, not mine.” The mumble is soft, almost entirely muffled by his clothes, but still he hears.

Marco is sure his heart stopped for a moment, wondering if he really heard it the way Ace said it. Shakily he moves his hands, pushing the boy a little backwards. Ace immediately tenses up as their eyes meet, looking to the bedsheets with profound interest.

“What did you just say Ace?” He asks a little breathless.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Ace mumbles, his flush slowly growing more prominent.

“Ace, I need you to repeat that, yoi.” When Ace pointedly ignores him and continues to stare at the bedsheets he presses on. “Please, Ace.”

Hurt, guilt and embarrassment fill his eyes as he looks back to Marco. “It’s nothing Marco, just forget it.” Added just a little softer with enough self-hatred that Marco could feel it himself, “I’m not good enough.”

Calmly Marco reaches for Ace’s cheek, turning his freckled face towards his own. He leaves no room for question as Ace’s dark eyes widen and his mouth opens to object, pressing his lips down on Ace’s. In comparison to his earlier reaction, Ace catches on fairly quick and wraps his arms around Marco once more.

They remain like this, their lips softly touching with an occasional nip or lick, even their tongues intertwining at times. Nothing matters in the moment but the two of them, tasting the other with his lips, feeling the weight of Ace on his lap, marveling on the hands that knead his back. Nothing could be as perfect like this exact moment.

Breathlessly they part, hazed eyes find each other as their foreheads touch. “Never say you’re not good enough Ace, you are you and that’s all what matters.” Marco softly kisses the tip of Ace’s nose, enjoying the flush that never seems to fade.

“But you’re a Prince, I’m just someone from the street… we can’t be together.” Desperation and hurt are clear in his voice but Marco isn’t willing to give up.

“Says who? By now I would’ve thought you knew all of us come from the streets, father took us in and we became his sons, the princes. We’re not better than anyone else Ace, we live our lives to try and better that of those around us. If you want this just as much as me, we can be together for as long as we’d like, yoi.” Marco explains calmly, stroking his thump over Ace’s freckled cheek and loving how the boy leans to the touch.

“We can?” Ace asks hopefully, all kinds of expectant emotions swirling through his dark orbs.

“Yes, we can.” Marco smiles, laughing as Ace tackles him down in a bearhug. He is more than glad for the fact they were still on bed. 

His back is in an awkward position and he’s sure to feel it later tonight, but he doesn’t mind as Ace smothers him with kisses and cheers. Feeling elated himself he holds the boy down for a proper kiss, weaving his hand into the dark locks again as his other slides down Ace’s back. And Ace doesn’t complain, letting Marco touch him wherever he wants while he grinds their hips together.

The kiss turns heated as hands start wandering, groping and kneading skin before moving on to another spot. Marco is about to tell Ace that they should stop, first work out a plan to stop the proposal and tell his father before getting more intimate. But the rough opening of the door to his chamber is enough to make the boy stop his advances.

“Marco, we really need to— oh god, what’s going on in here?!” 

Marco immediately recognizes that shrill shriek, the voice belonging to Domino. Inwardly he curses, he really didn’t need her to see this, this might cause them more trouble if she tells her family. Ace, the poor boy, scrambles off of him, quickly standing beside the bed and looking wide-eyed towards the fuming blonde.

All of her previous shock is nowhere to be seen as resentment overtakes her features, scowling all the while she gives Ace a dirty look over.

“So when you said, ‘other matters to attend to’, you meant going to your room and messing with the staff? Is that why stories go round of the King and Princes at castle Moby treating their staff ‘good’?” Domino sneers towards Marco, not even bothering to look at Ace again.

“You’re nothing but a dirty man Marco. You put everything on the line; the freedom of your kingdom along with the lives of your people, just because you’d rather fuck a man instead of getting to know your soon to be wife.” Her brown eyes glower at him before she almost growls the next part. “Wait till father hears of this.”

Without another word she turn on her heel, scurrying out of his room in what Marco can only guess is the direction of where her parents are. He can’t help but wince, this really wasn’t meant to be happening. But he can’t wallow in self-pity, he needs to do something and quick.

“Marco I’m sorry. If I’d known then I wouldn’t have… I mean, it’s my fault—”

“It’s not your fault Ace.” Marco turns to the boy, his dark locks obscuring his freckled face but Marco’s sure that self-hatred and guilt would be visible in his mesmerizing eyes.

As Ace doesn’t respond, Marco moves to the freckled boy and brings him in a hug. “You’ve made me so happy, I thought you weren’t interested in me and I didn’t want to push you, yoi. I’m sure we can do something to fix this, don’t worry.”

Warily Ace looks up, reflecting the guilt and self-hatred in those dark pools, just as Marco thought. Actions speak louder than words and Marco leans in for a kiss, holding Ace close against him.

This one is soft, unlike their earlier kiss that slowly escalated into something more than an innocent kiss, but it’s all that Ace needed to relax a little. The worries slowly evaporate from his eyes, yet he remains a bit wary. “What do we do now?”

“Let’s go and see father, he might have an idea on how to deal with this, yoi.” Marco takes a hold of Ace’s hand and leads him out of the room, aiming for the throne room as he assumes his father will be there.

At the sight of both his son and one of the staff rushing through the large wooden doors, the King looks startled, holding his tankard halfway up to his mouth and he stares at the two men. Marco pays it no mind, walking over to his father with rushed steps while Ace stands awkwardly near the door.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise.” Edward laughs loudly, his booming voice bouncing off the large walls.

“Father, this is serious, we need—”

“I didn’t expect the two of you to rush in here, what can I do for you son?” His father guffaws before calming down a little and taking a sip of his wine. Simultaneously he waves to one of the guards, causing for the man to leave with a quick bow.

Marco only sighs at his father’s antics, at times that man can be carefree and jolly about things, but never once does he underestimate things, he has some sort of a sixth sense of that. 

The loud slam of a door interrupts Marco as he’s about to explain what’s going on. King Magellan along with Queen Sadie and Princess Domino storm in, looking furious beyond reason as their guards slowly fill into the room. Marco looks up to his father and is met with a face that root him to the ground, the King’s face is contorted in anger as the man scans over the interrupting crowd. There have only been a few times that his father looked that pissed, and that usually doesn’t end well for the ones causing it.

“Magellan, what’s the big idea here?” King Edward’s voice caries strong through the room and Marco can see Impel Down’s guards stiffen from the heaviness alone.

“I think that’s my line Edward. Now where is that manipulating little thief?” King Magellan thunders back at his father, but the man remains unfaced by the dark-haired man’s demand.

A soft “ouch” gains everyone’s attention as one of the doors is thrown shut, revealing Ace who rubs the back of his head with a pained face. The door must have hit him when Magellan and company rushed in here, just that thought annoys Marco greatly. He turns to move to Ace only to be stopped by an order that startles him.

“Seize him!” King Magellan points towards Ace, who in turn looks shocked at the guards that corner him. 

Ace is outnumbered as several guards reach for him, trying to grab his arms while the boy tries to punch his way out. But due to the large number he’s easily subdued. One of the guards got a hold on him and pushes Ace on the ground with a smack that’s loud enough to make Marco wince, imagining how painful it must be for Ace who is hellbent on getting free. 

As the guard maneuvers Ace around to smack his head against the tile floor, he interferes, shock no longer holding him impassive. “Stop that! What do you think you’re doing to him?” Marco roars furiously at the man, quickly making his way to Ace. “Release him this instance, you have no right to treat him this way.”

One of Impel Down’s guards walks up to him, blockading his path as he’s nearly within Ace’s reach. Marco tries to sidestep the guard but the man follows his move, even going as far as holding him back as Marco tries to push through. “Let go of me right now.” Marco growls but the man doesn’t stop, he just pushes Marco further away from Ace.

“Magellan call back your men.” His father hollers to the other King. “You came her on friendly terms, but don’t think for a second that I’m going to let this slide if one of those boys get hurt.”

King Magellan seems to take the threat in consideration and moves his hand, making a motion for the guards to loosen up a little. But they don’t let go, Ace remains restricted by two guards and blocked from Marco’s view by several other guards.

King Edward doesn’t seem completely happy about the new changes but accepts it either way, facing back to King Magellan with a piercing glare. “Now do tell me, what makes you think you have the right to arrest one of my sons?”

“That boy is no son of yours, just a lousy servant that doesn’t know his place.” King Magellan argues. 

His father hums noncommittal, not revealing anything on his face. “Well, I don’t remember telling you that Ace here is a part of the staff.”

“It’s obvious, just look at that peasant’s clothes.” The dark-haired King looks as furious as Marco feels, but he’s sure it’s for different reasons.

Marco can see the twitch of eye from his father, clearly unamused by the accusation thrown Ace’s way, and he can understand because he feels the exact same way. “I think I asked for an explanation, yet I’ve received none.” King Edward sternly responds, holding a stare down with King Magellan.

“I have every right to arrest a peasant like him. He is manipulating the Prince’s mind and corrupting it homosexual lust. I’m not going to stand by and watch my daughter get hurt because of some lowly peasant that wants to interfere with his unholy sins.” King Magellan looks pleased beyond reason as both Marco and Ace stare wide-eyes towards the man. Even Domino holds a smug look to them but remains quiet otherwise.

Marco can feel his blood boiling; anger growing at the way they refer to Ace, his Ace. He balls his fist and growls lowly, ready to rip the man a new one, no matter if he’s a King. “None of that is true, you’re making—”

“Marco!” King Edward roars, his eyes looking like they’re brewing up a storm. “Watch your mouth.” His voice low while he doesn’t even bother to look at Marco, leaving the blond with his every boiling state.

“Is that all there is to this?” His father turns his attention back on the smug looking King in their castle.

“Well of course, that filthy boy was going to corrupt our soon to be son. Obviously I had to act before the boy would ruin our proposal by turning the Prince into one of his own.” King Magellan explains with a certain urgency and realness that one would almost believe the man cared for Marco, if it weren’t for the elated smile barely concealed on the man’s face.

“A proposal that hasn’t been accepted yet.” His father reminds the man.

“Yes indeed, a proposal that isn’t… wait no. The proposal is accepted, both our children consented on that.” King Magellan lies, because Marco didn’t consent to anything.

King Edward hums, a bit amused judging by the sound of it. “I don’t recall hearing that.” The man ponders and Marco can see the other King sweating extensively. “But my old brain can get a little forgetful from time to time.” His father’s laughs once again resounds through the room and albeit a bit awkwardly, King Magellan and his company joins in. 

Unexpectantly King Edward stops laughing, leaving King Magellan and the rest of his group to end their laughter stiffly. “So you agree with me on that?” King Edward asks the dark-haired King, and now that Marco’s rage calmed down a little he can see that his father is up to something.

“My old friend, we all grow older each day, it’s only natural our body slowly fails us.” King Magellan agrees but looks a little puzzled.

“Good, because I have some interesting news considering the proposal.” That seems to capture everyone’s attention immediately. 

As Marco scans the room he can see the variety of looks on people’s faces as they watch his father. He himself feels confused, wondering what his father seemed to have discussed by himself. And a look to Ace shows that the freckled boy is still very much scowling to his handlers as they restrain his movement but worry swims in his dark pools.

“As of this moment, the proposal…” his father pauses, seeing as everyone listens with battered breath to his next words. “…is annulled. There will be no alliance between the kingdom of Sphinx and Impel Down.”

Different stages of rage fill the air as the King and Queen try to ask for a better explanation and even Domino joins in. King Edward just remains impassive on his throne as he waits for them to calm down, looking oddly satisfied with the outcome.

“What’s the meaning of this Edward, do I need to remind you what will happen if you decline the offer?” King Magellan roars with anger, looking like he’s about to burst out of his shell. 

“That head of mine can get quite forgetful, like I said. The reason for the alternation in this proposal is quite simple as we had another suitor for my son, the very person you’re restraining right now.”

All eyes land on Ace, who in turn looks as confused as everyone else in the room, Marco included. A bit warily the guards from Impel Down seem to loosen their grip, enough for Ace to flex his arms a bit but not enough to move freely again.

“You’re telling me that a mere peasant is the reason you’re throwing all caution out the window? My daughter and wealth are far more superior than what that scoundrel could ever give.” King Magellan growls before turning to Ace. “He’s just a nobody and will remain that way.”

Anger flashes before Ace’s eyes but as soon as it came it left, leaving nothing but sadness in orbs that usually shine brightly. Marco can feel his blood boil again and is on his way to tell the idiot of a King off before his father interrupts him.

“I think an apology would be in order.” King Edward suggest, making King Magellan smirk victoriously. “To the boy Magellan. Roger would rise from the death if he ever hears how you treat his son.”

The dark-haired man happily nods along, seeming to agree with King Edward. That is, until the words finally sink in. Almost bulging eyes look towards the smirking man on the throne, looking pleased with himself after dropping the bomb of Ace’s true heritage, something even Marco didn’t know of. Muffled whispers resound through the air as the whole room starts speculating about the new profound revelations, wondering if ‘the scrawny brat’ really is Roger’s son.

Roger, or better said King Roger, used to be the ruler of Raftel, a rather sizable kingdom north of Sphinx. Both Edward and Roger had a close friendship, despite their outside appearance as two ever fighting forces. Rumors had been made that after Roger’s death his legacy was not yet finished as a child was born, one nobody knew if they really excited. But it seems that after all this time everything was true, the proof of Roger’s legacy is Ace.

While Magellan and the others in the room are stuttering questions, Marco zeros in on Ace. He looks towards the boy with an inquiring look, trying to convey his question without actually voicing it. Ace seems to understand and sullenly nods, looking extremely guilty but Marco doesn’t understand why. 

“There is no way, absolutely no way! You truly think the son of world’s well-known ruler would suddenly be here, just to marry himself into your family? I thought your brain was getting forgetful, but to actually make up stories like this… unheard of.” King Magellan sneers, looking pissed along with a hint of fear in his dark eyes.

“Oh, but I have proof, don’t worry.” The old King casually responds. “Guards, bring them in!”

With anticipation everyone stares at the large double doors of the throne room, wondering who might walk through those doors. A red-haired man and a man with a grey ponytail walk into the room along with the guards. It takes a moment for Marco to decipher who they are but he immediately recognizes the red-haired man as Shanks, current ruler of Raftel after the former King had passed away with no new heir to the throne. The other man must be Ben, the King’s advisor and basically his righthand. 

Marco tuned out the ongoing conversation between Shanks, Magellan and his father. He’s completely overwhelmed by the amount of information given to him and finds more interest in asking the freckled boy himself what exactly is going on. Upon arrival of Shanks and Ben, the guards from Impel Down had released their hold on both Marco and Ace, allowing the blond to walk over to the stunned boy.

“Ace.” He carefully calls out, hand touching the other’s shoulder and Ace visibly jolts. “Are you alright, yoi? Are you hurting somewhere?” His cowardly brain couldn’t ask the question he wanted to ask, so instead he worries about the boy’s wellbeing.

Absentmindedly Ace nods, rubbing his wrists a little that are red but nothing seems to be hurting. However Marco still checks him over, trying to spot anything that means the boy is badly hurt somewhere. 

“You’re not going to ask?” Ace’s voice sounds low, almost overthrown by the arguing voices in the background. 

“Ask what?” He knows he’s just stalling and acting dumb.

“About what they just said… about who my father is?” Uncertainly laced his voice and is clear in his eyes, worrying if Marco is still going to accept him.

“Is it true then, is Roger truly your father?”

A nod. That’s all the answer he gets as Ace evades his eye contact again. His head tries to find anything to say, formulating words to comfort the boy but it seems he’s slower than usual as Ace breaks him to it.

“Do you hate me now?”

“What no!” Marco immediately defends. “Ace I don’t hate you; I don’t even know why I should hate you. It’s just… everything that’s just been said, it’s a lot to take in, yoi. I never expected Roger’s son to be alive or in this castle for that matter.” His hands reach for freckled cheeks and make Ace look up to him.

“But I lied to you all.” Ace argues back, holding on to that guilty look.

“You probably had your reasons for that, I’m not blaming you. Like I said, I’m just a little shocked. I would never hate you for you or your parents, never, yoi.” Marco stares back into those dark pools, seeing the guilt slowly ebb away as he brings Ace in a hug.

In the end it had taken till nightfall to sort everything out again. King Magellan and Queen Sadie had put up quite a fight regarding how legitimate their claim was. Shanks and Ben had brought a few things over to prove they weren’t lying; a document that explained Ace was the first and only born child of Portgas D. Rouge and Gol D. Roger, giving Ace the name of Gol D. Ace. 

After King Magellan had left, along with his entire household, his father explained how he gotten in touch with Shanks. Apparently the old man had an inkling on who Ace truly might have been but never really indulged on that, seeing as the boy never said anything he thought that Ace didn’t know himself. But after recent discovery of his son’s love interest along with the looming threats from Impel Down and Mary Geoise, King Edward decided to get into contact with Raftel once more. 

Shanks had been elated to know his former teacher and ruler’s son was still alive, the man had put up no fight when Edward had asked him to come over and meet the boy. Around twenty years ago, when Ace was born, his mother had died during childbirth after losing too much blood. In the years after his birth Ace had gone missing, being stolen by someone with hateful intent. The boy had been missing for so many years now that they thought he was already death by now. But as luck would have it, an old man had found the baby and brought it to bandits with the question to raise the kid. 

Long story short, Edward met Ace when he was around seventeen years old and brought him into the castle where he remained till today. After the whole revelation Shanks had suggested that Ace should come along to Raftel, to meet his people there and grow accustomed with his new role as leader. A bit hesitantly he agreed, but only after Marco told him to go and that it was fine. 

When Marco and Ace had left the throne room to discuss some things privately, Shanks and Edward were busy planning the upcoming wedding to unite their kingdoms. 

“Are you sure I should go, what about you?” Ace asks for the umpteenth time. 

“Yes I’m sure Ace, you should go and meet your people. You’re the long lost heir to the throne, they will be delighted to finally meet you, yoi. I don’t mind waiting a little until you’re settled over there.” Marco reassures him for the umpteenth time, having repeated this same sentence over and over again, each time a little differently.

“But what about us?”

“Like I said; I’ll wait until you’re settled, then we can see where this leads to, yoi.” He smiles lovingly and leans in to place a chaste kiss on Ace’s freckled cheek, enjoying the red flush that comes with it.

“You promise?” 

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm going to keep this one short, not longer than 6k.  
> Also me: cries in 8633 words.  
> idk what happened, I honestly tried to keep it short.... but yeah. 
> 
> I do like to point out that not everything is correct for a middle ages au, and that's because I didn't look too deep into middle ages/medieval stuff beforehand. Had quite a lot to do and therefore forgot to do some proper research xD I do hope that it still made some sense and you liked it because I had fun writing this, even though I switched the plot several times before I really liked the idea xD


	6. Humid Days [Marco/Reader]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hotness can be suffocating, yet a certain person seems to make you look at it from a different light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags: Hot (as in temperature you pervs), laundry, flirting (probably bad flirting), ASL as reader's brothers

Warm rays of sunlight hit the pavement, heating the spots that aren't lucky enough to find shade from trees or buildings. Hot isn't necessarily the correct term for a day like this, humid fits better as the air feels thick and makes breathing difficult. 

Curtains and windows are closed, locked tightly so nothing of the outside hotness mixed with humidity would enter the sauna she calls her home. Temperatures have been rising exponentially, turning the one-story home into a living pit of boiling lava. 

[y/n] is pretty sure it has never been hotter as sweat beads down her neck, wearing nothing but a loose tank top and even looser shorts. The heat is too much to even bother wearing something appropriate, skimpy and barely concealed is the way to go, while still sweating her ass off. 

In the last few days, the home had been overthrown entirely, mattresses found their way downstairs and now occupy the living room where the couch is moved to create more space. After all, a total of four mattresses had to be fit inside there, along with several fans to keep the heat at bay. 

Aircon’s are too expensive, so the next best option is to raise and army of fans, spreading the humid air further into the room with a slight breeze to give you the impression of cold wind. 

The upstairs bedrooms have turned into saunas that even the most frequent sauna lover wouldn't want to be in, at least not on their own volition. The heat gathered thickly and didn't plan on leaving, reason for [y/n] and her brothers to rearrange their home and decorations along with it. 

Downstairs one could call the heat 'doable'. It's not ideal and honestly, it's still too warm for her liking, but this way [y/n] doesn't feel like the strawberry flavored popsicle she was eating before, melting with each passing second and destroying her clean clothes with the sweet sugary substance that left a pink colored stain. 

Clothes, something that's a major bother the past days. It's too hot to wear them yet she can't exactly walk around in her underwear. Sure, her brothers do it, but for a woman her age it's nice to have at least a bit of privacy and modesty. 

Her brothers may be decent men—one of them—and don't care for how she looks or what she wears for that matter, but [y/n] prefers to keep the half-nudity limited to the boys only. 

But back on the subject that is clothes; greasy, sweaty and smelly clothes. Mainly consisting of multi-colored boxers with the occasional random print of bananas or rainbows, much to Ace’s chagrin and Luffy’s delight. 

The boys haven’t even bothered trying to do laundry in the past days, stating that since all they wear is underwear there’s no need to wash clothes. There’s a very big misconception there. Something that [y/n] tried to explain but somewhere along the line the boys lost track of that. Only Sabo, responsible and mature Sabo, saw the logic behind those words.

Yet [y/n] hasn’t seen any of them washing their clothes, or as they like to it; their sweaty boxers. Much to [y/n]’s chagrin as it turned into her job to ensure the boys wouldn’t walk around entirely naked. No need for such a sight to be engraved into her mind. 

The sun burns brightly and the heat could definitely allow one to make pancakes or cookies on the tiles in their garden, something Luffy kept asking about ever since Sabo accidently spoke his thoughts out loud. 

With heat this intense, clothing would be dry in mere minutes. Just hang them over a chair, or simply place them on the ground and watch the magic happen as within five minutes you have dry clothes again. But that’s a waste of water and their laundry detergent. 

Usually they would take their drying rack outside and hang each piece of clothing neatly so they don’t have to iron it after it’s dry, but with the baking heat [y/n] isn’t going to risk turning into a freshly baked cookie. However it be interesting to think about what king of flavor she would be, just plain or maybe with some pieces of chocolate, red velvet also sounds like a good idea, oreo feels a little outdated. 

Music blasts loudly through her earbuds, wireless of course since she doesn’t need anything else clinging to her sweat ridden body, as [y/n] fills the basket with freshly washed linen. The washer has claimed his spot in hell, aka; the gigantic sauna that used to function as bedrooms and bathroom. By the time [y/n] reached the bottom of the stairs she is sure that she’s even sweatier than before, feeling the fabric of her clothing cling to her as beads of sweat roll down her face.

Humming along with the melodic rhythm that’s blasted into her ears, [y/n] walks towards the dining area. Their drying rack awaits her there to be filled with the steaming wet clothes before she can place it outside through the large glass doors with stickers of monkeys on them, courtesy of Luffy since it wouldn’t be the first time the boy runs into the glass thinking it’s open.

The basket sits atop the table while [y/n] starts picking out clothes to hang on the rack, swaying her hips along the music and surely singing along falsely, but it doesn’t matter because there is nobody home. 

Sabo went out with his girlfriend Koala, something about getting ice-cream and finding relaxation in the forest—Luffy begged to come along at the mention of ice-cream. Ace said he was meeting some of his co-workers today and discuss some business matters, he explained it with a large scowl on his face clearly happy about it. As for Luffy, the boy said something about his friends having a pool and going there to party and eat, eating was the more important part.

Almost three songs later, the basket full of laundry was nearly empty, save for her own panties. The drying rack already looks like a mess, so many colored boxers fill the racks, creating a discolored rainbow that has pictures of pineapples, puppies, kittens and donuts. By this time [y/n] already gave up on figuring out to whom belonged which boxer, so she just places them in somebodies closet when dry and they will eventually end up with the right person.

Her own panties however are a different matter, while having obtained different shapes and colors over the years, they don’t look like a thrown up rainbow like the boys’ boxers. Staring at her newest addition to her slowly growing thong collection; a laced black one with a small burgundy bow on the front. 

Cute yet sexy. Doesn’t matter that there’s nobody to show it to, it’s enough knowing what kind of lingerie she wears, gives a sense of empowerment. 

A slouching figure in the doorway to the kitchen gains her attention, spotting a blond man she has never seen before. Cerulean eyes glimmer with amusement as he looks her over, lingering on the black thong in her hands before meeting her [e/c] eyes again. 

Flushed red and feeling hotter than before, [y/n] hides the thong behind her back, amusing the blond even more as a lazy smirk plays on his full lips. They start moving, slow and deliberate and it entices [y/n], placing all focus on the movements but not hearing its meaning. Only when the man smiles teasingly at her while pointing to his ears, she understands.

Scrambling she pulls the earbuds out her ears and throws them on the table, along with the damp thong. Warily she looks back at the man, seeing and hearing him laugh and something about that laugh makes her want to hear it on repeat.

“I said; nice moves you got there, yoi.” 

His smile is infuriatingly hot and with the rising temperatures inside the home that’s the least that [y/n] needs right now. Heat covers her face and the sultry look in his eyes makes breathing harder than it already is.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” The blond smiles a bit more reserved, probably due to her lack of comment. “Ace told me to come around back and wait for him to arrive, he didn’t say anything about someone being home or not, so I’m sorry for interrupting, yoi.”

[y/n] furrows her eyebrows in confusion, unable to decipher who this man is and why he knows Ace, perhaps that should have been her first priority all along. Instead she got dragged into this man’s perfect looking eyes, a stunning cerulean blue along with a sharp jawline littered with stubbles, a sharp but thin nose and almost glowing blonde locks. Not to mention the tight blouse the man is wearing, showing lines that hint to a well-toned body and pants that aren’t doing a good job at concealing its contents. 

Nobody would even bother to wear such tight fitting clothes on a hot day, yet this man does, despite how the fabric clings to his lightly sweaty body.

“I’m one of Ace’s coworkers, Marco Newgate.” The introduction sounds a lot more like a question, as if wondering if he himself truly is who he says he is.

It snaps [y/n] out of her stunned state as she shakes her head, regretting it as her poor excuse of a bun falls apart and [h/s] [h/c] hair cascades down her back, sticking to her wet neck. 

“Ah yes, I’m sorry I know you. I’m [y/n] [l/n], Ace’s sister, nice to meet you.” Stretching out her hand for the blond to shake.

His personality falls back to sultry again as he takes her hand, holding in within his larger palm and smiling seductively down to [y/n]. “You know me, yoi? I can only imagine the horrible things Ace must’ve said about me then.” That lazy smirk will be the death of [y/n]. “He however talks highly about you [y/n], it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

[y/n] can see the cerulean eyes sweep over her face before glancing lower and examining her body. Short but obvious, she can see how the man’s pupils dilate, remembering that she had forgone a bra for the moment and the blond most definitely had a good enough view of her barely concealed breasts that try to hide in her tank top. 

“It seems Ace wasn’t far off the mark, but that’s hard to tell since I’ve only just met you.” Glancing upwards through her lashes, unnecessary but adding to her more ‘innocent’ look, despite the fact her entire body glistens with sweat.

“Maybe I have to change that then.” His earlier smirk only seems to grow more seductive and [y/n] is sure Marco can hear her heartbeat with how loud it’s thundering in her ribcage. 

“Maybe you do.” [y/n] agrees, trying to match his smirk with her own.

“Maybe we can go out for dinner and a talk this Friday, just to make sure Ace doesn’t tell false truths about me, yoi.” His eyes never leave hers and [y/n] feels a little lost in the never-ending sea of blue.

“Maybe we can.” 

None of them says any more, just staring in the other’s eyes as they loose track of time. Shattered by the slam of a closing door along with Ace’s voice calling out for the blond, explaining why it took him longer to get here. 

“Oh you’re home [y/n], I thought you would be out.” Ace questions, looking a bit warily towards his coworker who took a step back and released [y/n]’s hand just as the raven-haired man entered the room.

“Someone’s gotta do laundry, you ain’t doing it.” [y/n] counters back, facing the basket and last thong that need to be hanged.

“Well… yeah. Anyway I see you’ve met Marco already, that’s good. Aircon broke at the office so we decided to move here to talk about… uhm _things_ , so I hope that’s fine by you.” Ace explains a bit absentmindedly, moving some furniture around so the table is in reach of the mini fan army. 

“I seriously do hope you remember exactly _what_ we’re talking about Ace, it was your plan to begin with.” Marco sighs and [y/n] can see him pinch the bridge of his nose, looking exasperated beyond reason.

“Yeah, yeah. That thing, got it.” He doesn’t, that much is clear from Marco’s reaction.

And while Ace is distracted with the new home reorganization for today, Marco slips a card to [y/n] with a wink, walking over to her brother and complaining about something [y/n] doesn’t acknowledge. 

Looks like she finally has something else to look out to during this heat, a date with a hot man that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*has several deadlines this week*_  
>  Decides that she's behind on OP, both manga and anime, and spends half a day catching up. Then figurers it be fun to play some OP pirate warriors 4. And since i already ruined my day, why not write on 3 stories at the same time xD  
> That being said, I hope you enjoyed this piece of random draft I had sitting around :3
> 
> Also I'm noticing a pattern. It goes like; MA x Reader, MA, M x Reader, MA and now again M x Reader xD  
> A random question on a random fic; if you buy new clothing and wash it, do you admire it before hanging? If not, then I'm weird xD


	7. (Un)expecting [Marco/Ace]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After that fight, this wasn't what Ace signed up for...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request by: Kagura98  
> Tags: Alpha/Omega, unplanned pregnancy, a little cliché, Luffy to save the day, a little angst, a dash of horrible humor, Mpreg

Two months isn’t a very long time. In all honesty, time flies by pretty fast and before you know yet another month has passed and you haven’t done any of the things you set out for yourself to accomplish. 

But, two months when pregnant is a lot. While there might not be a clear indication to his pregnancy, having to baby bump and all, he can still feel it. It might all be in his head because his abs still look rock-hard like nothing has changed, but still it feels like they are becoming softer, making way for the belly that’s bound to come in a few weeks. 

And with every day that passes, Ace hates it more. Yet at the same time he can’t…

This child, this unknowing and innocent life, is proof of his love for a man he was willing to die for. He was so caring, so incredibly sweet, thoughtful of every small thing, mature in so many aspects Ace isn’t, and not here…

A little over a month ago they broke up. It wasn’t a nice breakup, but a serious fight. Harsh words were shoved to the other while they retaliated with even harsher accusations. Hateful things were said to one another and that’s when it was decided to end it.

And while Ace is still hurting from their fight, he was ready to accept life without the man he had fallen hard for. That is, until he noticed a difference in his body along with a sickness he never felt before. 

He kept blaming it on the fight, that it somehow had upset him more than he originally thought. But as the feeling of uneasiness stays and grows even worse with the passing time, Ace decided to visit the doctor’s office—with a lot of convincing from Sabo and Luffy.

And that’s when he got the news. Laughable even, being pregnant with his ex’s child. It’s like everything is mocking him. Finally when he found the man he thought he would stay with forever, whom he truly loved and who accepted Ace for who he was, and he loses that all with just a single fight.

“Ace, did you have an appointment this week or next?” Sabo peeks his head into Ace’s room and immediately breaks his looming thoughts. Which is for the better, he shouldn’t get too worked up because that’s bad for the baby.

Ace shakes his head, trying to lose his quelling thoughts before facing his brother. The blond is nicely dressed—when is he not—and looks like he’s about to leave for work.

“Next week, I wrote it on the calendar.” Ace responds back, watching his brother walk into the room.

Sabo nods, looking a bit contemplative as his brow furrow in thought. “I see.” He drawls a bit and Ace wonders what is going on. “Luffy accidentally ripped the calendar so we need a new one. But I’ll try and get out of work for next week then, shouldn’t be a problem.”

“What did Luffy do this time?” Ace sighs tiredly, figuring the earlier thuds he heard came from his little brother causing mischief. 

“Not sure.” Sabo laughs as he moves to the mirror in Ace’s room, fastening his tie. “Something with food, short attention span and a dog?” The blond shakes his head, smiling fondly at the image in his mind.

Yet Ace’s attention is on the tie in his brother’s hand. Picturing a certain blond who wears ties with the same effortlessness as his blond brother. He shakes his head, blaming his pregnancy brain for remembering Marco in every little thing he sees. Damn hormones.

A noncommittal hum leaves him, watching Sabo straighten his tie with practiced ease. “Luffy will always be Luffy.”

“Right,” Sabo agrees. “Well I’m off then. Could you text me the time and date for next week’s appointment?” Sabo checks his handiwork in the mirror before turning to walk out the door, looking back at Ace and waiting for the raven-haired’ response of a short nod.

Downstairs Ace can hear some talking, one loud and the other barely audible. Seems that Sabo is telling Luffy to behave for the rest of the day, judging by the whines coming from their younger brother, Ace can’t really hear what’s being said and he isn’t trying to be honest. Only when he hears a door closing shorty followed by a car driving off, he remembers to send Sabo a text for next week’s appointment.

Nine weeks. He’s that far in already and next week he has his first ultrasound planned. To say Ace is worried would be an understatement, he’s scared shitless to become a father let alone see his child for the first time.

Frankly, he should have known this would happen. After all, they were both a bit tipsy at one of the parties held at the blonde’s parental home. Ace can only remember small fragments, knowing how perfect it felt when Marco finally slid in and how completely lost he felt when they moved as one.

It’s only the day after, when he saw the pack of condoms on the ground, along with the rubber they used the night before, that’s when he should have acted. He can remember how he thought it was odd that the ground was a little moist underneath the condom, but he figured it was probably due to the lube and his own slick.

And now, months after, he can scold his past self for being so irresponsible. Obviously it was because there was a tear in the condom, making it ineffective and causing this pregnancy. Obviously he should have done something from the moment he noticed and obviously Ace was too hungover to do just that…

And that results in a pregnancy from a man he will never see again.

Besides, it’s not like he could just go back to Marco and explain what happened. The blond would only accuse him of cheating with somebody else because they used protection. So what is there left to do if he can’t convince the blond.

Sighing tiredly, Ace left himself fall backwards on bed, mindful of the tiny life growing inside him. That remains a weird factor he can’t get used to. His hands slide down his abdomen, feeling how the density of his abs is different than before, indicating the soon-to-be baby bump. 

The fight remains engraved in his mind, clear as day, mocking him for being unable to forget.

It had been about nothing, or at least, according to Ace it was nothing at all, but it bothered Marco immensely. The idiot old man and his even more idiotic troubles, if he had just listened to Ace nothing would have happened. Then they wouldn’t be apart from each other and the blond wouldn’t have left him alone with an unborn child, their child.

Angrily Ace flops around, hitting the bed with his fists as he flails on the spot. All this negative thinking puts him in a bad mood, he doesn’t want to be in a bad mood.

Since Sabo will be at work and god knows what Luffy is up to, Ace decides to phone a friend to meet at their favored bar. Obviously he isn’t going to drink, but the place just feels like a second home, so he rather goes there instead of moping around the house.

After dressing appropriately enough and walking down the stairs, Ace is met with nothing but serene silence, indicating that Luffy left. He shoots Sabo a quick text while grabbing the keys, making his way out the door and into the car.

Almost immediately he receives a response back from the blond. _‘You better not be drinking Ace, I’ll smack you, doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant or not!!’_

Ace snorts but doesn’t reply, the blond should know by now that while Ace might be rash, he’s not that stupid.

The drive to the bar is uneventful, nothing happened on the road and Ace is grateful for that fact. He arrives just in time to see his friend stepping out of his car, his blue hair slightly faded and definitely needing a retouch.

Ace parks his car, a few spots away from the grey Peugeot belonging to his friend and smiles broadly when stepping out of the vehicle. “Yo Deuce, long time no see mate.”

Deuce laughs, rearranging his shoulder bag a little as he waits for Ace to get closer. “Indeed man, finally remembered your friends now that your love-sick puppy phase is over?” The man jokes but Ace’s smile falters immediately.

Seeing the smile wash away his friend’s face, Deuce claps him on the back and gives his shoulder a supportive squeeze. “Sorry man, I didn’t know. How about we go in and talk yeah?”

A bit solemnly Ace nods as they walk into Party’s Bar. Home sweet home as he’d like to call it. The interior might be a little worn down but is still comfortable enough, giving the bar it’s character. The same old patrons claiming their personal tables is a sight Ace never thinks would change. In fact, nothing has changed over the years and Ace feels like it never should, he prefers it this way.

With a glance to the bar Ace can see that Makino isn’t here, either somewhere in the back of having the day off, Ace is praying for the latter because he’s in no mood to explain his situation to more people.

One of the tables near the bar they claimed, having a large window with a view on the road. They take a seat across each other as one of the waitresses walks over with a smile.

“Heya, what can I get for you men?” The woman’s soft smile not fading, notepad and pen at the ready for their order.

“It’s a bit early but what the hell, I’ll take a beer.” Deuce answers with a smile of his own towards the woman.

The never-fading smile stays as she writes Deuce’s order down, turning to meet Ace with inquiring eyes.

“Uhh, just a coffee please.” He’s going to regret the caffeine later on but that’s a problem for future Ace.

“A coffee? You’re making me look like an alcoholic.” Deuce laughs as he adds in a little shove, having to lean awkwardly over the table to even reach his shoulder.

The woman joins in with her own laugh, albeit more reserved, and tells his blue-haired friend not to worry before walking to the bar.

Just as she’s out of earshot Deuce turns back to him, wearing a dopey grin that causes Ace to frown at his friend. “Love struck much?” He taunts with a smirk, waggling his eyebrows a little.

Deuce rolls his eyes at him along with a shake of his head. “She’s cute, can’t I admire ones beauty? Mr. Helookshotimmaseeificangetintohispants.”

“I’m pretty sure nobody’s named like that, that’s just too long.”

“What about… Mr. … okay no, I don’t know.” His friend sighs mournfully.

“And who calls himself a writer again?” Ace teases with a smirk.

“Ouch, I felt that you jackass.” Feigning hurt as the man holds a hand over his chest.

Ace can feel himself slowly slip back into his old self, laughing loudly with Deuce as they catch up on things. It had been almost three months since they saw each other after all, either work or Ace’s relationship with Marco kept them from seeing one another. And honestly, after the breakup and him finding out about the pregnancy, Ace wasn’t as stocked to meet his friends again.

But now he’s glad to be with his friend again, just catching up and joking like the old times. Reminiscing on their edgy high school phases and teachers they used to hate, boys and girls they wished to bang and all the other questionable choices they made. Even going back to elementary school, when they heard for the first time what their secondary gender was and were taught so many important stuff. 

With Deuce things feel familiar, with Deuce nothing is forced or boring. With Deuce he allows himself to lay bare his fears, open up to someone that isn’t his family.

Ace will always be thankful for Deuce, the support he received from the blue-haired man over the years really helped him calm down from his hate induced past-self. It’s a different bond than he shares with Sabo or Luffy, and that makes it easier for Ace to connect with the man.

And instead of tiptoeing around the problem bothering Ace, Deuce just asks what’s the matter. Something Ace is ever grateful off, he loves his brothers but the fact that they tend to beat around the bush when it comes to Marco annoys him.

His explanation turned into a rant, something that Deuce let him continue on, not bothering to interrupt, just listening. Ace could see Deuce making mental notes, his dark eyes moving from corner to corner as they place every tidbit of useful information into the right boxes.

Ace told Deuce about the breakup, growing furious once again at the mention of how the blond wanted out because of their age difference. It never bothered Ace in the first place, so why does it matter that much to Marco, or better yet; why was that their breaking point?

Every of his questions were rhetorical ones, not wanting an answer but just needing to spew his frustrations on the table. Deuce remained quiet and attentive, adding more and more notes to his ever growing list.

Going from a hundred back to zero, Ace grows quiet, alarming Deuce in the process. His friend stares at him with worrying eyes, looking ready to speak but waiting for the right moment, sensing that Ace isn’t finished with his rant.

Then in a softer voice, Ace continues. His own voice sounds foreign to himself, careful and hurt, a stark contrast to his earlier, almost furious, tone. He tells Deuce of his pregnancy, how he found out and how far along he is, his greatest worries for the unborn child and how he hates the child won’t grow up with two parents.

Deuce gotten extremely quiet, nowhere near his earlier attentive listening, his eyes shocked as he looks to Ace and takes in the rest of the story. But Ace can see that Deuce lost track of words, the notes in boxes flying through his head and creating a giant mess of unorganized papers and quotes he doesn’t know what to do with. The word pregnant, a single and simple word, caught him off guard.

Two coffees and halfway through his third glass of apple juice later, Ace was finished. He looked out the window as his friend gathers his thoughts, looking mind blown beyond reason. Mindlessly Deuce lifts his fourth beer to his lips, brows furrowed in concentration as his head works to sort out the mess that is Ace.

“I,” the man starts, setting his drink down without having taken a sip. “I never thought I’d see the day you’re pregnant.” He states a bit puzzled, just as Ace feels when he looks back at his friend, thoroughly confused by the statement.

“I mean, like, I knew you could and such, but I just never thought you would go for it. Or better said; keep it.” Deuce knows for a fact that Ace never wanted children, something he kept repeating ever since he heard that omegas have the ability to give birth.

“Not like I can just kill a life that’s growing inside me.” Ace huffs annoyed.

“Well, it’s not really…” one glare for Ace is enough to make Deuce shut up. “Yes, I can totally understand that.” He agrees instead.

“And now?”

“Now I wait till I can poop this baby out.” Ace states as a matter of fact, looking incredulously up at Deuce.

Deuce facepalmed loud enough for the slap to resonate throughout the bar, causing for the few patrons to watch them with questionable gazes.

“Yeah, no shit sherlock. That’s not what I meant though, what are you going to do about the whole Marco thing and how are you going to raise a baby by yourself?” Deuce grunts a little exasperated.

Ace falls silent as he looks out the window again, contemplating on the question. In all honesty, that was all he had been doing these past weeks. Trying to figure out how to feel and what to do, making plans for the future, some alone and others with Marco. But an answer… he doesn’t have that.

“I dunno, I honestly have no clue.” His voice sounding as lost as he feels.

Deuce huffs a laugh, his look soft. “I’m not surprised. Just know I’m one phone call away if you need help.”

Ace smiles at the man, thankful for such a caring friend. It helps, knowing he’s not entirely alone in this.

The conversation onwards turns lighter, discussing Deuce’s dates that have all been a gigantic flop, much to the man’s dismay. Deuce is just in the middle of his monologue about his latest horror date when something catches Ace’s attention, or better said; someone.

A blond tuft of hair along with an auburn-colored pompadour walk into the bar and Ace stiffens, this is the first time after the breakup that he sees the blond. Deuce takes notice of this and lowers his voice, trying to act as inconspicuous as possible and not draw too much attention their way.

At first glance they didn’t seem to notice Ace, both men casually stroll up to the bar where they claim their seats. Even from this distance Ace can see the pompadour man flirting with the barmaid, the one that served them earlier, much to Deuce’s chagrin.

Ace isn’t ready for a confrontation with the blond, he hasn’t made up his mind yet. So to ensure they wouldn’t see him, Ace drops some bills on their table that is surely much more than what they owe but he doesn’t care. Briskly he takes a stance and walks to the door, ignoring the keen blue eyes that follow after him.

Deuce is with him in a heartbeat, looking a little troublesome as they rest by Ace’s car. The blue-haired man is about to speak when Ace interrupts him.

“You’ve been drinking a lot; I’ll drive you home.” Without waiting for his friend’s answer, Ace turns to his car. 

Despite not looking like he agrees on the matter, Deuce enters the car and allows Ace to drive him back home. The car ride was in complete silence, safe for the buzzing radio that lost signal of the channel every so often.

  


— **O** — 

  


When Sabo returned home, having spent long and dreadful hours behind his screen, he expected Ace to be more jovial after hanging out with Deuce. Even if his brother would smile a bit more, that’s all Sabo could ask for. Instead, Ace looks extremely tired and doesn’t even acknowledge his presence as Sabo enters the room, entirely lost in his own mind.

Ace didn’t even enjoy his dinner and ate an alarmingly small amount of food, unlike his usual appetite. He even went to bed earlier than usual, which made no sense to Sabo because he could smell the lingering aroma of coffee on his brother’s breath, knowing the man wouldn’t sleep since his narcolepsy and caffeine aren’t a good match.

Sabo just hoped that in the morning after everything would be alright again. But instead it seems that Ace still remains a lost soul in his own shell. However, Sabo really started to worry for his brother’s sake when Luffy pointed things out to him, stating that Ace isn’t himself and looks sad.

All of that left Sabo to do the one thing he swore he would never do; visit Marco’s home without telling Ace.

Luffy forced himself in on the trip, stating that he’s going to ‘beat that pineapple’s head’. So Sabo couldn’t say anything more on the matter and let the boy come along. 

There’s only one thing the blond keeps forgetting about, that being the fact that Marco’s home, or rather his dad’s, is a large mansion. 

Obscuring the trees that make out a large garden behind the home, a trendy mansion rests. In and around the home decorated in both a modernly and old style, giving it a warm and aesthetic look. Every time Sabo sees this he can’t help but awe, the difference in styles is barely visible as they smoothly transcend from one to the other, in perfect harmony.

In his lost trance, Sabo didn’t notice Luffy reaching the door and ringing the bell, impatiently as he pressed the button several times. The boy may be a giant ball of joy and happiness, but he can get pretty single-minded when it comes to the ones he cares about.

To both their surprise, Marco opens the door, his face holding the same perplexed look as they share. “Luffy, Sabo.” Marco gives both men a nod of acknowledgement, despite looking slightly troubled. “What are the both of you doing here, yoi?”

“Talking about Ace.” Luffy states casually and Sabo feels the urge to facepalm, maybe bringing Luffy along wasn’t such a good idea.

Marco’s face falls immediately, looking guarded and hostile as his eyes find Sabo’s. “There isn’t anything left to talk about. Besides, that’s between me and Ace, not the two of you.”

“Nuheuh.” Luffy starts, gaining himself an exasperated look from Marco. “You’re hurting Ace so it’s our business. And you also made him pre—”

Sabo shoots forward and clasps a hand over his younger brother’s mouth, no need to tell the man that right off the bat.

“What Luffy tries to say is that Ace is sad.” Sabo knows that Marco doesn’t buy it for one moment, he looks too calculating at both boys for that. “But still, we wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t important, could we at least talk?”

Sabo can see the battle unfold in his fellow blonde’s eyes, several thoughts swirling through those blue orbs and Sabo can only hope he will allow them in for a decent talk.

Albeit reluctantly, Marco allows them to enter in the always cozy feeling mansion. One wouldn’t be bothered by the size of the rooms because each and every one is always decorated to give the idea of a normal sided home, warm and comfortable.

They went to Marco’s bedroom, claiming the seating area in the man’s large room. Sabo could overhear the other men that live in this mansion, reason why Marco brought them here instead of the downstairs rooms.

“Now then, what’s it you want to talk about, yoi?” Marco’s defensive stance slowly sagging and while he still looks on guard, he seems more relaxed than before.

“Why did you break up with Ace?” Sabo finds himself asking before thinking it through, that really wasn’t what he wanted to ask.

“If you only wanted to talk about our breakup, then I’m going to ask you two to leave again. We both worked it out and it’s over, stop questioning me about it, yoi.” Marco looks agitated again and Sabo blames his stupid mouth for that reason.

“Ace doesn’t look happy with that decision.” Luffy stopped looking around the blonde’s room in awe and joined in, somehow gaining himself a bag of candy that even Marco frowns at.

“Where did you get that?” Marco questions, eyes hinting at worry.

“There was this box by the bed, had a lot of candy and clothes. Looked like Ace’s.” Luffy answers disinterested, more intent on throwing the gummy bear into the air and catching it with his mouth.

“Over you say?” Sabo asks with a smirk, somewhat glad to see a flush rise on the man’s cheeks as he stutters a reason.

“That— That’s just things I need to return, nothing else.” The look in his eyes tells Sabo something else.

His flustered reaction doesn’t last long as blue finds green in a silent standoff. To Sabo it appears that Marco isn’t as done like he says, but he holds up to that faux performance of his and Sabo isn’t sure how to break past that.

And luckily he doesn’t need to think of something, because he brought Luffy along and the kid is more than inclined to say something on the matter.

“Why do you keep his candy? I’m sure Ace misses his candy; he could use some.” Effectively breaking the stare down as Marco faces the boy with a dumbfounded look, seems like the always in command man has trouble reading Luffy.

And while the blond continues to trip over his tongue, trying to find an adequate response to Luffy’s seemingly inattentiveness to the situation at hand, Luffy himself decides to take things a bit further. Throwing in the bomb.

“Ace is all grump because of the baby, it can be so annoying. Maybe some of this candy would help him feel better.”

At this, Sabo did actually facepalm.

“Baby? Why do you guys have a baby?” Marco asks with light concern, warily looking to the boy that’s still trying and failing to catch gummies in his mouth. Sabo understands, he too would be concerned for any infant’s life around Luffy.

“We don’t have a baby, Ace does.” Luffy answers with a glimmer in his eyes, smile spreading wide as he’s still extremely happy to know he’s about to become an uncle.

“And why would he have a…” Marco trails off, the words slowly falling into place before he turns to Sabo wide-eyed. “Ace is pregnant?” He all but screeched, looking both shocked and furious at the same time.

Sabo sighs, feeling dread wash over him now that he needs to tell Marco. “Yes he is, nine weeks now.”

“So he got pregnant just before we broke up, yoi.” It’s no question but a statement, Marco did the math quick enough to figure that out. However, Sabo has trouble understanding the angry look on his fellow blonde’s face.

“Yeah, he found out—”

“Why exactly are you two here?” Marco interrupts Sabo, holding on to the furious look.

“To tell you—”

“Tell me that Ace cheated on me, yoi? Is that why you’re here?” Marco once again cuts Sabo off, raising his voice to a level that even has Luffy stop in his pursuit for the gummi bears. 

“What, no! Why would Ace cheat on you, you mean too much for him to do that.” Sabo counters back, wondering why Marco would accuse Ace like that.

“What else would you expect me to believe? We’ve been nothing but cautious; if he’s pregnant than it’s somebody else’s. Don’t drag me into his mess.”

“I think you’ve got it all wrong Marco. Ace never cheated on you, he would never do that, you should know he never would. That baby he’s carrying, it’s yours, not somebody else’s.” Sabo argues back, getting angry that Marco thinks Ace would just cheat on him.

“Sabo, it’s not possible, it can’t. I just told you, yoi.”

“And did you ever stop to think that a condom might rip?” Sabo shouts back, trying to suppress the image that shoots through his mind along with his words.

Marco is rendered useless, the only things that leave him in a frenzy are the words; “that can’t be” and “it was only once”.

“You need to choose.” Luffy breaks in and ends Marco’s mumbling. “You’ve hurt Ace but if you don’t make it up you’re hurting him more.”

“Luffy, that’s not how it—"

“Yes it is!” Luffy cuts Marco off. “Ace shared his meat with you, he doesn’t do that with me or Sabo; only you. If you don’t put your meat in then you’re hurting him!”

Despite the words of encouragement to get Marco to take action, the way of putting it sounds extremely bad. Even Marco seems to agree as he looks slightly startled towards the boy, trying to figure out what it meant.

“I’m not sure I’m following?”

“Ace doesn’t share his food, only with you! You’re special and you put a baby in his belly, so you need to make him feel better or else I’ll beat you up, pineapple old man!” Luffy’s threat is dampened by the pieces of gummi bears that stick to his face and hang half-way out his mouth.

Sabo watches as Marco left his head drop into his hands, sitting hunched over in the armchair and taking deep breaths. It seems that finally the reality of the situation is dawning in on the older man. For the next ten minutes Marco says nothing, just continuing to sit in the same position with a murmured brabble from time to time leaving him. Luffy doesn’t seem to mind, having gotten another pack of candy to busy himself with while the man tries to figure out his next plan of action.

“You’re really telling me the truth, yoi?” Marco asks after a long time, breaking the silence that was previously filled with Luffy’s loud eating.

“Yes, Ace is going to get fat.” Luffy laughs his characteristic laugh, remembering one of the earlier complaints Ace made when he heard he was pregnant. 

“I saw him just the other day, he doesn’t look different at all.” Marco’s voice sounds unsure, wavering slightly as he still tries to figure everything out.

“He’s only a few weeks pregnant, obviously it doesn’t show just yet.” Sabo explains.

“Sabo, do you know the reason why we broke up, yoi?” Marco questions, looking towards the younger blond.

“Because of the age difference yes?”

“If you know, then you also know I can’t go back to Ace. We’re over twenty years apart, I can’t be with him. He deserves someone around his own age.” The last part is soft, a barely audible whisper under Luffy’s smacking.

“Ace doesn’t care, he wants you so he stays with you. He doesn’t need anybody else.” Luffy responds, looking Marco straight in the eye for the first time they walked into the man’s room.

“Ace is tough, he won’t ever admit to needing help or feeling down, so you need to help him. He doesn’t want our help; he only wants you but he’s too stubborn to confess to it.”

There are times that even Sabo is startled by his younger brother’s keen observation skills and encouraging words. This is one of those moments. Luffy has always been blunt when stating the truth, not winding any covers around it. This is what he sees and that is what he will tell you.

Marco doesn’t answer Luffy, unable to find a response but he doesn’t look away. Luffy gives the blond a critical look over, checking the man’s determination before feeling satisfied enough. With a smile on his face Luffy nods, turning around to grab two more bags of candy before walking out the door.

And just as he stands in the doorway, “don’t forget, hurt Ace and I’ll beat you up pineapple old man.”

Luffy continues his trek downstairs, leaving two startled blondes’ behind. A call for Sabo makes the blond shake his head, a fond smile playing on his lips. Luffy really is a one of a kind and possibly the best brother he could ever imagine.

“I’m going to take him home before he raids your cupboards.” Sabo says while standing up, joined by the sound of something falling on the ground somewhere downstairs.

“Just so you know, you might feel like you’re ruining his youth by forcing him to stay with you, but you’re also the one who also gotten him pregnant. If you’re going to ‘ruin’ his life anyway, be at his side and support them every step along the way.” Sabo couldn’t help but throw in his two cents of advice, feeling a bit useless since Luffy took take of the problem mostly by himself.

And just because he can’t leave without a threat of his own, “better hold on to what Luffy said, because we will beat you up for hurting Ace.”

  


— **O** — 

  


A huge throbbing headache is what Ace wakes up to after a rough night’s sleep, his damn narcolepsy had made him fall asleep at random times during the day, so at night he couldn’t get some proper shut-eye.

It’s been like this for the past days, ever since he saw Marco at the bar when he went out with Deuce. Somehow it activated something within him that made Ace crave for the blonde’s attention, and he absolutely hated that.

What they had is over and it stays that way, Ace shouldn’t crave the man’s love or touch. He knows it’s a love he will never experience again, Marco was the only one he truly ever loved.

But why does the universe like to make fun of him? Just as Ace made up his mind to try his hardest and forget about Marco, to continue and stay strong for his child, the universe decides to mock him for his choices.

Nothing could have prepared him for the moment where he pulls open the front door to be met with the face he’s both dying and hating to see again. At least the man has the courtesy to look ashamed of himself, makes it easier for Ace when he scolds the hell out of the blond for showing up like this.

“Hey” Marco greets, which causes all kinds of short circuits in Ace’s brain, making him furious.

They haven’t spoken in over a month because the old fart decided he’s too old for Ace, and now the first thing he says is a simple ‘hey’, like everything that happened before was nothing. As if they hadn’t spent an entire day fighting over a subject that Ace had no trouble with.

Like Marco didn’t just abandon Ace with his child.

Only the thought of his child goes through Ace’s head, causing him to remain calm and not flare up in the blonde’s face. He had been dying to jump at the man and beat the crap out of him for showing up this way.

Instead of all that, ignoring all the anger coursing through his veins, Ace answers. “Hi.”

“Can I come in? I’d like to talk with you, yoi.”

NO! Ace’s mind screams at him. Leave and never return! His head starts hurting with all the different thoughts and emotions building up, making it hard to understand his own feelings.

If I let you come in then I can never truly hate you

The voice sounds like him and Ace hates it, not wanting to think about how close to home that hits. He needs to go on, he needs to better himself for the sake of the baby, he needs to let go. He needs Marco…

With the upcoming doctor’s appointment Ace needs to ask the doctor about pregnancy brain, because he can’t deal with any more of this emotional rollercoaster. 

“Ace, do you want me to leave?” Marco breaks his internal screeching, unable to become any wiser with the thoughts that keep siding with each other faster than Luffy’s friend Ussop can think of lies.

Unable to find words, Ace shakes his head and steps aside, allowing Marco entrance to his home. Sabo and Luffy left a bit earlier, luckily his blond brother is kind enough to send a text and let Ace know what everyone’s up to.

Marco takes a seat on the couch, looking awkward beyond reason but Ace doesn’t see. He moves fast, rushing into the kitchen to make the man a cup of coffee. Black with just a dash of sugar, exactly how he likes it. And exactly how Ace hates it, grossed out by the fact he remembers everything the blond likes.

For himself he claimed a glass of apple juice, it was on sale on the weekend and somehow Luffy convinced Sabo to bring loads. For what reason, Ace still has no clue.

Returning to the room, Ace finds Marco staring at his balled fists. The man looks tense and uncertain, worried even, and Ace can’t understand why. He only wonders just how bad this conversation is going to turn out.

He put the cup down on the table, startling Marco from whatever thought process he might have had, a strained smile takes over his features and Ace mimics one of his own while taking a seat on the other couch parallel to the one Marco uses.

“You wanted to talk?” Before Ace could add anything else to his sentence he takes a sip of his drink, quelling both his thirst and need to rant against the other.

“I think it’s more of what you need to tell me than the other way around, yoi.” Marco states as he looks up, holding on to that worried gaze.

Ace huffs, growing annoyed again and he isn’t sure how much longer he can hold back his anger. Mentally apologizing to the baby, not wanting to cause them any harm.

“You came here, I didn’t invite you. If you have nothing to say then leave, I’ve got better things to do.” Slow but steadily he can feel his restraints slipping.

“I don’t wish to fight Ace, please just tell me.”

“I don’t even have the slightest idea to what you mean Marco. What do you want me to say? Tell you that it’s my fault we broke up, or tell you—”

“Tell me you’re pregnant.” Marco cuts in, ending the rant Ace was about to start. “To tell me you’re having a baby, our baby.”

Stunned silence turns into boiling anger in the blink of an eye. Seething with rage Ace lifts himself of the couch, glaring at Marco fiercely while the blond shot up too, looking worried again.

“Who told you that?” Ace growls, feeling his blood boil when Marco doesn’t answer. “I never told you, who told you that?”

“Ace that really isn’t the issue—”

“WHO TOLD YOU?!” Ace roars over the blond.

Marco looks startled, troubled even and Ace can feel the itch of annoyance grow larger. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself before continuing in a lower voice. “I told everyone to keep it to themselves and only a few know. Now, who told you about the pregnancy?”

“Luffy and Sabo came by my home the other day, I’m not sure if that was what they wanted to discuss but they did, yoi. Don’t be mad at them Ace.”

His brothers’ punishment shall have to wait till after this talk with Marco, and Ace is sure to give both of them a good whooping for going behind his back. Out of all, he expected them to keep it a secret from the blond, seems he thought wrong. But his feeling of betrayal has to wait, he needs to deal with Marco first.

“So what, you come crawling back just because I’m pregnant. You really think it works like that?” Ace snaps at the blond.

“No, that’s not why Ace. I’ve been thinking things over and I really wanted to come by sooner, I just… I wasn’t sure how.” Marco looks absolutely remorseful and the genuine hurt makes Ace rethink his new rant he was about to yell.

“I really hated myself for saying such awful things to you. It doesn’t matter that is was in the heat of the moment, I shouldn’t have said it. You don’t need to give me a second chance or anything, but I’d at least wish to talk things over properly, yoi.”

Ace remains quiet, his mind conjuring random moments from their fight. They both said horrible things to one another, saying stuff that wasn’t true and other hurtful accusations based on nothing, its only purpose to outdo the other with a sense of more pain.

He didn’t notice a tear slip down his cheek, too caught up by the horrible memories of the one thing he wanted to forget. Marco is with him in a heartbeat, bringing Ace into his arms and wiping the tears away, whispering sweet nothings into his ear until Ace finds himself relaxing.

“I’m really sorry Ace, I should’ve listened to you from the start.” Marco breaks the unspoken silence, hugging Ace closer against his chest.

“Why didn’t you?” Ace asks while burying his face into the elder’s chest, reveling in the comforting touch he’s been craving for so long.

“Because a part of me couldn’t believe it, yoi. Ace, you’re so much younger than me, add in the fact you’re absolutely gorgeous and filled with youth, unlike me. Then there’s also the fact you’re just starting your life as an adult… I didn’t want you to throw away your future for me, to settle for an old man while you could have someone closer to your age.”

“You’re stupid, why would I want someone else? No, why does your age matter old man?” Ace can feel his face heat up at Marco’s compliment, unable to keep himself from getting flustered as red paints the tips of his ears.

“Maybe because you keep calling me old man?” Marco teases, a chuckle resounding in his chest and directly into Ace’s ear.

Ace can’t help but laugh along. “Twenty-three years or a few hours, it doesn’t matter, I’ll always call you old man.”

“Thanks a lot brat.” Accentuated with a jab to Ace’s side, making the younger man yelp and jump up.

“Careful, you can’t go hitting me, idiot old man!” Ace laughs in a tease but Marco doesn’t see it that way.

Instantly he freezes, looking down to Ace’s stomach in worry. Blue widened eyes stare back at his silvers ones, making Ace snort at the man’s distressed reaction. “Oh god, Ace I’m sorry, yoi. I forgot, I didn’t—”

“Relax, it’s fine. A single jab shouldn’t put this fighter to sleep.” Referring to the accident weeks before, when only a few seeds managed to make their way through one of his dormant eggs. 

Both his hands finds Marco’s face, making the man look him in the eye and calm down. Marco takes a deep breath as his eyes close, leaning into his touch. “So it really happened then, it was no lie?”

“No, it’s really true.”

Marco sat Ace down and they talked. Both of them apologizing for the fight, thoroughly discussing the things that have been said and talking it out. They had the same vision as to how they like to see their relationship progress, and it was only due to Marco insecurity that they fought about stupid reasons.

Then Marco nearly begged Ace to tell more about the baby, wanting to know every little detail up to this point. So Ace did his best to tell the blond of everything he could remember, from the broken condom he should have paid more attention to, to the first test he did until he reached the upcoming doctor’s appointment which is in a few days.

Because they hadn’t yet talked about their relationship and if they were going to continue, Marco held back from inviting himself to come along. But Ace could see it in the man’s eyes and asked him to join. After all, it will be the first time they get to see their baby, even if that’s basically a rough image which might need a bit of imagination.

Just as they picked up the conversation about the future; both theirs and that of the baby, Sabo and Luffy returned home.

“Oh, I see we have company.” Sabo dryly says, looking guilty beyond reason.

Luffy on the other hand look approving, nodding proudly towards Marco and Ace, leaving the both of them completely confused—well maybe Ace a bit more than Marco seeing as the blond has an inkling to what it means.

“We do and we talked. But don’t think this is over ‘Bo, I’ll get back at you for going behind my back.” Ace takes pleasure in Sabo’s audible swallow.

“W-well, I take it you two are together again then?” There’s an obvious strain in the younger blonde’s voice and Ace feels his lips curve up at that.

“We haven’t—”

“Yes we are.” Ace interrupts Marco, making the blond stare at him in wonder. “If that’s what you want that is.” He adds in a lower voice, suddenly uncertain and hating his bluntness.

“Yes! God yes. I shouldn’t have left you in the first place, yoi.” This time it’s Marco’s hands that hold his face, making Ace look into those deep blue pools as he leans into the touch.

“I want nothing more than to spend my time with you, and our child.” One of Marco’s hands moves down to Ace’s belly, cupping it softly. “I love you Ace, I always have and I always will.”

Embarrassed by the sudden confession, Ace can feel his face heat up as his eyes try to evade Marco’s. He can’t get used to the man’s honesty at times and this certainly is one of those moments, especially with his brothers that watch from the sidelines.

Flustered but still wanting to say something, Ace mumbles almost unintelligible “love you too old man.”

Marco stares down on him and Ace is sure his face burns even brighter with that loving look in the man’s blue orbs. “I’m going to ignore that for the sake of our baby, don’t want you combusting on the spot from embarrassment, yoi.” The blond teases him, knowing exactly how much Ace hates compliments or confessions.

“Oi, what you sayin’ old ma—”

His rant is cut short by a pair of lips that claim his, coaxing Ace to relax and lean into the familiar and pleasant sensation that washes over him. He missed how wonderful those lips feel against his own, moving in tandem and leaving him breathless as he begs for more.

Ace loses himself in Marco, drowning out the retching sounds and disgruntled comments from Luffy. The boy will never stop thinking it’s weird that people ‘try to eat each other’s tongues’.

As they part, Sabo congratulates him, happy to see his brother isn’t feeling miserable anymore. Luffy on the other hand has other ideas in mind.

“I wanted to beat him up, now I can’t. I’m happy but I’m not.” The boy whines, making the three others in the room laugh at his misfortune.

Sabo manages to coax Luffy out of the room, leaving Marco and Ace alone to finish their talk.

“I’m worried about Luffy when the baby comes, I feel like he’s going to be extremely protective.” Ace sighs at the thought, intertwining his fingers with Marco’s that are sprawled over his stomach.

“You think Luffy is bad, but did you think about my brothers, yoi?” Marco hums against his temple, wearing a serene smile as his hand continues to caress Ace’s stomach.

At the loud groan that escapes Ace Marco smiles fondly, bringing his younger lover into a hug and leaving a trail of butterfly kisses on Ace’s face.

“There will be an entire army of angry uncles if someone as much as sneezes in the baby’s direction, let alone what would happen if someone would bully them.”

“Not to mention all the pampering you and the baby are going to get.” Marco wistfully adds.

“Can’t we just say I’m gaining weight and then act like it’s a total surprise when the baby comes, I don’t want pampering.” Ace whines, already having the images in his head.

“Izo will sniff it out, I guarantee you that, yoi.” Marco shivers at the thought alone, his crossdressing brother won’t let him go without a warning if he would find out.

Silence hangs in the air, safe for the loud talking from the other room where Luffy is presumably talking to Sabo about his day. Marco breaks the peaceful serenity they created; hugging Ace close once more.

“I love you Ace, both of you.” The blond says with a look to the life that’s slowly growing inside of him, eyes shining bright with so much love.

“Love you too Marco.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Happy birthday Marco!**
> 
> I've been wanting to post this days before but my shoulder kept hurting and made what little movement I have in my right-arm barely possible :c Also really wanted to do something for Marco's b-day but due to pain and deadlines (which I'm still behind on) I couldn't do anything. But on the plus side, I did get to finish this and a large portion for I'm Home :D
> 
> While writing this I gotten ideas for a somewhat similar situation but in the cannon storyline, so if I ever get around to it, I'll write another. I hope you liked this! :3
> 
> (Literally kept forgetting to add so many things to this chapter, the amount of post-edits I did is insane xD)


	8. Stranded [Marco/Ace]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting shipwrecked on some abandoned island with no way of leaving turns out to be a life altering moment for Ace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request by: Sousie  
> Tags: Marine!Ace, stranded, enemies to friends to lovers, bird puns, bonding

A new day equals a new day on this god forsaken island.

Today marks the second week of imprisonment on some abandoned island in the New World. Ace had left his basis two weeks ago to strengthen their defenses on another island against a group of rebelling pirates—in all honesty, all pirates are rebels seeing as they don’t give up willingly. However, all was well until a heavy storm knocked him off course.

Striker—his favorite one-man boat powered by his devil fruit powers—suffered a great deal of damage in that storm. For Ace more than enough reason to make a stop at the nearest island and fix his boat, after all, that hole will only continue to expand if not dealt with and he isn’t necessarily looking forward to meet the bottom of the sea.

And as luck would have it, a welcoming little island was a little distance away, easy enough for his almost sinking boat to reach. And with even more luck, there was absolutely nothing on this island that he could use to fix Striker… the wood is so flimsy that it evaporates when in contact with seawater. One the other hand, this island does have enough food, the animals might put up a good fight but it’s not like it bothers Ace that much. One hit of his flaming fist and it’s instant dinner.

Ace is extremely glad for the fact he didn’t die yet because let’s be honest, having no food for two weeks would be a total nightmare. But it still isn’t aiding in his current predicament, that being washed up with a broken boat and nobody to call because his mini transporter snail was taken by the untamable waves of pure destruction. It’s Sixis all over again, safe for a fun companion to help him through the days.

On his fifteenth day in—judging from the marks he carved into the tree he built his makeshift tent against—something of interest washed ashore. Ace couldn’t exactly see what it is, the distance between his tent, made out of leaves and sticks, and the cove where the thing washed up is too large to discern shapes from each other. Also adding in the fact that he just woke up and his eyes didn’t seem ready to work with him, everything is a blurry mess.

The only thing he can make out from this distance is that whatever the thing washed up might be, it’s large and seems to have some odd colors. Ace’s hopes shoot up, thinking it might be another boat that washed ashore and he can use the wood to fix his Striker.

Throwing on his long coat over his marine vest, along with his cap, blocking out whatever sunlight might hit his face even though it doesn’t affect him as much. The white with blue decorated fabric with the large dark words that spell ‘justice’ dances in the wind as Ace forgoes his buttons, like always, showing of his slick washboard to nobody in particular because he’s all alone. And that thought puts a damper on his brightened mood

His feeling of loneness is immediately forgotten when Ace spots that it’s no boat that washed ashore, it’s an actual person. Giddy to have someone to talk to again—and partly to see if they are still alive—Ace makes a mad dash to the cove, throwing sand everywhere in his run.

The physique appears to be that of a man, broad shoulders yet lean torso, bulkier than the average woman. But it’s only when Ace reaches up close that his thoughts are proven correct. A man with golden locks lies face-first into the wet sand, waves of seawater hitting the man’s sandaled feet. His shirt a dark purple with dark pants that reach around mid-calf, a light blue sash with a golden belt around the man’s waist and a straw ornament on the man’s left calf.

Somewhere in his mind, Ace fills in the blanks, the remaining details for this man as he has an unsettling gut feeling that he knows this man all too well. Weird shaped blond hair that rests atop a long face with droopy eyes lids and rounded eyebrows, long thin nose above full lips, stubbles on a chiseled chin and jawline, muscular yet lean chest that bares an immense tattoo…

Ace hopes that his gut feeling is wrong on this one, because there’s no way such a person would wash up here.

Carefully he turns the man around, making it so he isn’t suffocating on the muddy patches of sand. Ace can clap his gut feeling on the shoulder once again, after all it’s never been wrong about things, because that man is most certainly who he thought it might be.

The large navy-blue tattoo stands stark on the pale skin, proudly showing the man’s crew and family, according to the tales and teases his fellow marines like to make about that certain pirate crew.

For a moment panic takes over, questioning himself on what he needs to do. His position as Lieutenant isn’t one for show, he needs to rid the world of pirates and that includes all and every single one of them. And in all honesty he can kill Marco the Phoenix, first division commander of the Whitebeard pirates, with ease. The man is unconscious anyway so that makes him an easy target, Ace knows the man is a devil fruit user and he can just kick the blond back into the ocean and leave him to drown.

But the human part of his brain doesn’t allow that, it would be unfair and dishonorable to kill someone when they can’t protect themselves. 

He could leave the man here; the tide will rise soon enough and then Whitebeard’s right-hand man will be washed away. That way there’s no innocent blood on his hands, Ace could just walk away and act like he never saw the blond here in the first place.

Yet his damn conscience can’t bear with that fact.

Grumbling whole throwing insults at the man, Ace pulls him further up the beach. In his two weeks here he learned how far the water level will rise and what spots are perfect to lay and lounge in the sun. So that’s where he takes the blond, just out of reach from the sea but not far enough to make the man believe Ace helped him when he would eventually wake up.

Waking up, in his worried state Ace forgot to actually check if the man is alive. Mindful of the man’s face, that’s covered in sand, Ace lowers himself to the tattooed chest. His medical skills are none to nothing, so he’s just going to see if he can hear a heartbeat and hopefully see a rise and fall of the man’s chest. But since it’s awkward to place his head on the man’s chest, Ace opted for checking if he still breaths, holding a hand over the pirate’s nose. If one would see him like this, they will certainly make fun of his stumbling around. 

Happy to see small the movements of the man’s chest along with the soft air that’s blown against his hand, Ace stands up. He dusts his dark shorts off before walking back to his tent, no longer wanting to stay here.

It’s going to be bad enough when that notorious pirate wakes up and starts demanding things from Ace. He will have to be mindful of his stuff and the pirate’s behavior.

  


— **O** — 

  


Not even half a day is what it took for the pirate to wake up. Ace wasn’t watching him per se, but he couldn’t help to check in from time to time to see if he had woken up already.

From his makeshift tent he watched as the scene unfolds, the first division commander of the Whitebeard pirates slowly sitting up and scanning his new environment with a crease on his forehead. Seems he didn’t expect to wake up in such and unfamiliar place and Ace quietly snickers at that.

Then, within ten seconds of the man’s awakening, the commander stares right at him. Ace knows he’s well obscured by leaves and the man couldn’t possibly see him, yet it feels like he sees straight through everything that hides Ace from view. Seems that the man’s observation haki is a lot stronger than his own, even if Ace doesn’t want to admit to that.

Ace half expected the man to walk over to him when he finally stands up, instead he walks towards the sea that has slowly risen higher as hours past by. How he does it, Ace has no clue, but the blond easily sticks his hands into the green-blue water and rinses his face. He is supposed to be a mythical zoan user, there is no way he could deal with seawater that easily. 

Yet as Ace pounders on who this man is, because that tattoo on the man’s chest along with his looks really do match that of Marco the Phoenix, he didn’t notice the brilliant flames of blue and golden until they were next to him.

Startled by the sudden appearance, Ace recoils back and hits the wall of his tent in the process, causing for the leaves to fall down and ruin the one thing that gives him a little shelter at night.

“Rope and some wood could make that a lot sturdier Lieutenant.” The deep voice makes Ace look up from the mess that used to be his tent and he’s met with the blond pirate from before, this time wearing a lazy grin.

“And I would’ve if I could.” Ace sneers back, he doesn’t need advice from some pirate.

The pirate, definitely Marco the Phoenix because nobody else has flames like his, smirks down at him. “I take it you pulled me further inland, yoi?” He asks while looking towards the spot he previously occupied when unconscious.

“And why couldn’t it have been the waves?” Ace retorts back chagrined, he’s doing a great job at acting sassy if he says himself.

The Phoenix looks back at him, his brow quirked up and Ace worries for the man’s next words. “Even with the tide, there’s no way it could’ve pushed me all the way back there.” He looks back to the spot that’s barely visible through the leaves before he continues again.

“Add in the fact there are some drag marks and of course the footsteps that lead this way.” A teasing smile spreading over those full lips when he turns back to Ace again. ”And you could easily keep watch over me from here, yoi. Gotta say Lieutenant, I didn’t know you had a soft spot for pirates.”

Ace can feel himself flare up, literally. It’s only due to the widened blue eyes that reflect the red hues of his flames that he takes note of what’s going on, turning down the intensity of his fire before the entire forest lights up.

“Ah, you don’t need to get embarrassed Lieutenant.” Marco jokes.

Fueled by his emotions of embarrassment and anger, Ace launches himself at the man, giving him a strong right and ready to follow up with his left. Unfortunately on his part, Marco is a seasoned fighter and dodged his attack with ease, even gripping his wrists in the motion and render him useless.

“Now that isn’t very nice, I was kinda hoping you didn’t just safe me so you could kill me afterwards, yoi.” That taunting smirk stays present on the man’s face and it riled Ace up even more.

“Shut it old geezer!” He yells just as his knee collides with the man’s abdomen, gaining a small grunt in return but nothing more.

Marco mournfully sighs, “Here I thought that the Navy thought people to respect their elders, such a waste of youth.” Shaking his head disapprovingly but not letter go of Ace’s wrists.

“Oh screw you, you’re just a pirate, what would you know about respect.” Ace shouts at the man as he tries to wiggle his arm free, even trying to set himself on fire but his flames don’t come to his call. He looks like a fool as he fights in the blonde’s restrictions, tossing and pulling like mad with agitated grunts.

“You’re all the same simpleminded treasure hunters, drinking alcohol and singing songs as you plunder and kill, oppressing others to your bidding.” He shouts without thinking, his actions fueled by annoyance since he can’t break free from the man’s clutches.

In the blind of an eye Ace finds himself on his back against the sandy ground, startled looking up at the angry pirate that hovers over him. He’s completely locked in; both wrists captured in one of the man’s hands, legs straddled by strong thighs and his view obscured by a heavy frown.

“Just because I’m a pirate and you’re a marine doesn’t make you the better person _Lieutenant_. We hold our own respect and tend to follow up on that a lot better than you do, yoi.” There’s a threat in those blue orbs that forces Ace to hold his tongue if he wants to live.

Slowly Marco releases his hold on Ace, standing up and turning his back to the marine. “And don’t lump us in with those good for nothing idiots; we abide to our rules and honor, we aren’t the same as those drunkards.” Marco’s voice sounds distant and cold, unlike his earlier playful tone. Ace hates to admit but he wants to hear that one rather than this one.

“I’ll take the west side of this island, you can remain here, yoi. No need for unnecessary fighting if the winner is obvious.” With that the commander turns away, walking along the beach without look back to Ace who remained on the ground, shocked.

  


— **O** — 

  


It’s a few days later when Ace sees the man again. A burst of blue and gold soaring at high speed through the air, partially leaving the island before returning to his side of the island again.

Ace can’t help but wonder why Marco doesn’t leave, he can fly and even flown away from the island, so why does he stay here?

His questions are stopped abruptly when his stomach growls, yesterday hadn’t been a very successful hunt and his stomach is loudly protesting. He left his reinforced tent, built a bit deeper into the tree line where his construction appears a lot stronger with better sticks to keep everything together.

However just like yesterday, today’s hunt isn’t much of a success. The density of animals seems to have significantly decreased and those that remain here are too fast to capture, so Ace keeps failing his every attempt. He did find some fruit that are edible so that stills his hunger for the most part, but he’s dying to eat a good meal.

He is just about to debate on how hard it would be to heat the ocean and cook some fish at the same time when an incredible smell got his interest. Smoldering waves of fire that have a juicy aroma, like a good chunk of meat is roasted above the fire. It lures him in and Ace finds himself on the other side of the island in no time.

From behind the bushes he spots Marco, roasting indeed a large animal above a fire. The blond isn’t focused on the meat however as he peels a fruit that looks similar to an apple, only looking slightly bigger and having a strong red color to it.

Maybe if Ace is quiet enough he might be able to steal some of the food, his stomach agreeing on the matter with a low growl that sounded suspiciously like a ‘yes, go’.

“Don’t even think about it, yoi.” Marco warns without looking at him.

Ace holds his breath; he knows the man is skilled with haki but he never thought he would be spotted this fast. He didn’t even get to give his plan a shot, it wasn’t really thought out but he wanted to try anyway.

“I know you’re there brat, just come out.” This time the blond looks in his direction, waiting for Ace to show himself.

“I wasn’t planning on doing something.” Ace pouts as he makes his presence known from behind the bushes, standing up with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Marco lifts his brow in scrutiny, not believing Ace at all. “Want some?” Pointing in the direction of the fire. “It’s too much for me anyway, yoi.”

Ace is about to refuse, tell the man that he doesn’t need his pity food and can easily catch something himself, but then his stomach decides to make its discomfort known with a growl. It’s loud enough and almost animalistic, unlike his usual stomach growls and it makes Marco stare at him with wide eyes. Only when he understands what made the sound is when he laughs, causing for a pale flush to claim Ace’s face.

Marco gives him a rather sizable piece along with some slices of the big apple, served on a leaf that acts as a plate. For himself he takes an obvious smaller piece but adds in more fruit.

Shy yet thankful Ace turns to the man, not wanting to continue without saying his gratitude. “Thank you.” He mutters soft enough to be barely audible but Marco heard him nonetheless.

As the blond smiles at him before taking a bite of the meat, Ace quickly follows up and moans as the tender flesh almost dissolves on his tongue. Ace isn’t an expert on food, he knows what taste good but that’s the extend of it, but this, he knows it’s amazingly good. It somehow makes him remember his youthful days where they would cook an entire bull for dinner and it tasted heavenly.

“How did you get it to taste this good?” Ace asks while stuffing his mouth with more of the delicious food, even adding a few pieces of apple in the mix.

“Let’s just say we have a very skilled cook that’s willing to teach unfortunate souls, yoi.” Marco answers after swallowing what was in his mouth, shooting Ace an amused look.

Ace knows he should probably act a bit more civilized, but he can’t help it, the food is just too good for him to take his time and eat. Ace needs to savor it fast and fill his growling stomach.

“So you’re an unfortunate soul then?” This time waiting to continue eating after asking his question.

“I somehow ended up here without remembering how, so I guess I fit the bill.” Marco smiles as he looks back at Ace. “What about you, also an unfortunate soul or planned for this?”

“Sorta got shipwrecked.” Ace shrugs before tearing into another piece of meat.

“That tiny boat buried in the sand, that’s yours then?”

“Yeah, she isn’t up for any sailing soon unfortunately.” Ace adds somberly, he really hates that Striker got that beaten up during the storm.

“I thought so, yoi.” At Ace’s confused look the blond continues. “Have you noticed there’s no rain here.”

Ace furrows his brows, not understanding what rain anything has to do with his broken Striker. “Well yes, it hasn’t rained in the last two weeks since I gotten here.”

Marco gives him an odd look at the duration of his stay but doesn’t say anything else on the matter. “Okay, this is just a theory but I’m thinking that since it never rains here, the wood somehow isn’t used to water. I reckon you tried using some before it dissolved?”

Ace nods but doesn’t say anything, wondering where Marco might be going with this. “It’s a pretty stupid conclusion but I think that since it never rains the wood never had to strengthen itself to keep its form, that’s why it disappears.”

Marco still looks a little contemplating and a bit embarrassed by his own statement, which is new for Ace. But then again, his theory, while sounding somewhat logical, also makes for a pretty weird conclusion.

“I haven’t given it much thought actually. Kinda figured that these were special trees that just lose their shape in water.” Ace expresses a little vague, not entirely sure what he’s trying to say as well as wondering why he’s responding to something so insignificant. Not only that, he’s doing it to make Marco feel less embarrassed about his random insight.

“Special trees huh.” Marco hums, holding his chin with his thumb and pointer finger. “I suppose they are, usually one doesn’t dissolve when touching water, yoi.”

“In any way, it’s more important that they create enough space for the animals to live in, otherwise I’m pretty sure I would’ve eaten my pants by now.” Ace shrugs before taking another bite of the delicious meat. “What’s this by the way?”

“Not sure, it looked like a deer but it had tiger stripes and I’m pretty sure the head doesn’t resemble that of a deer, only the antlers.”

“Oh, I think I’ve seen that one, absolutely no clue what it might be though.” Ace agrees with the man, looking a bit confused before shrugging it off and taking another bite. “Tastes good though.”

“With that appetite, how much of the wildlife died to become nutrients for that black hole?” At Ace’s questionable stare Marco expounds. “I’ve seen you eat a few times now and I’m not sure how you manage to do so, yoi.” Marco chuckles.

“Stalker.” He mumbles, glaring a bit when Marco casually shrugs his shoulders. “Just being hungry is what it takes I guess.” Ace explains like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I like food, so I eat a lot. Fast meta— metambl… metamblos…”

“Metabolism?” Marco quirks an eyebrow, looking completely satisfied with himself at the flush that claims Ace’s freckled cheeks.

“Yes, fast metabolism is what the doctor once told me.”

“I can verify that’s a hundred percent true.” There is something sly about the chuckle that leaves Marco.

Getting flustered again—that’s been happening too much lately—Ace chucks a piece of apple to the man, successfully hitting his chest.

“Hey now, don’t go wasting precious food, yoi.” Marco reprimands him but there’s still an amused smile present. 

“Not wasting meat.” Ace shrugs indifferently, stuffing the remainder of the meat into his mouth and evading the stick that is aimed at his head.

One stick led to another stick which eventually resulted in a full blown stick-war. Mimicking a horrible swordfight or making a fragile bow, they continue to outdo the other. Never intending to truly hurt each other, just to have fun and smack a stick to someone’s head.

By the time they parted ways, Ace going back to his own tent on the other side of the island and Marco staying where he was, Ace was pretty sure his face might hurt in the morning with how much he was smiling. Somewhere along the lines he forgot they are two enemies that are supposed to be fighting. Tonight was about two men who are both stranded and needed some fun to make it through yet another day.

  


— **O** — 

  


The following days they spend more time together, going on hunts and building a larger and sturdier tent that could hold the both of them. A friendship is blooming and Ace dare say something more, but a part of him knows that this can’t happen.

He’s a marine, a Lieutenant, which might be a title he gotten without too much effort but still, he needs to set an example. Joking around with a pirate certainly isn’t that, especially since most jokes are definitely flirts or serious questionable jokes that have a double meaning.

Ace feels torn; on one hand he wants to stay friends with Marco because the man is funny. The man makes witty comments and has sarcasm like nobody else he knows, not to mention he’s easy on the eye and despite his age Ace would definitely want to get the man more intimately. And on the other hand, his conscience doesn’t allow him to accept feelings like that. He needs to end this, whatever it is, before he grows too attached. But the problem is that he’s already in too deep, the blond managed to open his eyes in ways Ace never thought were possible.

Over the course of days they spoken about many different things. Bonding over small talk and eventually discussing more about themselves and their families, even Ace was openly talking about his brother at one point, telling the man about his younger idiot of a brother that had chosen the pirates life. Something that Marco though was a little odd.

 _“If all pirates are evil, isn’t your brother just as bad?”_ Marco had asked while they lounged before the campfire.

 _“No not Luffy, he could never be a bad person. Luffy is someone that pulls everyone to him, good or bad, and makes them into a better version of themselves. Something like that, but I know that Luffy is not a bad pirate.”_ Ace had answered with full conviction, knowing his little brother like the back of his hand.

 _“And what about you, why did you choose to become a marine, knowing full well you’ll be your brother’s enemy.”_ Marco had inquired after a moment of silence, his previous smile morphed into a lazy grin.

At that question, just a simple query, he froze. It’s not like he always wanted to become a marine, no that just sort of happened. Ace dreamed to become a pirate, one whose infamy would spread far and wide, building his own name instead of hanging on to the bit of legacy his father created. He would be his own person and would make his notoriety well-known to everyone around him.

But having such a name lurking in the shadow, just waiting until someone figures out and spreads the news, it doesn’t do him much good. Garp had told him, many times before that he needs to give up on his feeble dream of becoming a pirate. He said it would only end up badly when people know, it be best if he merged between those that are still looking for him, acting ignorant to those around him.

So that along with a threat from the old geezer to turn Luffy in a marine after Ace would leave, made him decide to join the marines. Still, he wanted to do things his own way and not be helped into a rank because of his grandfather. He set off on his own to one of the marine bases in the East Blue as a test for himself to show his worth. Which eventually led to his first shipwreck to ever experience and a new friend, Deuce. And while Deuce may not have joined the marines after they left the island together, they keep in contact and let each other in on the newest facts.

But there was no way that Ace could tell Marco all this, so instead he dodged the question by asking one of his own. He knows his reason for wanting to become a pirate when he was younger, but he doesn’t know Marco’s.

 _“To be freer that anyone else and live my life the way I want to in this world of made-up rules.”_ Marco had responded.

That reminded him of another blond Ace knew well and it nearly brought him to tears. It’s been years since Ace actively thought about Sabo and the sudden reminder makes his heart ache again, which gotten Marco worried he did something wrong. Ace had shushed the man by saying he was just tired and needed some sleep. 

After that night Marco made sure to avoid the tricky subjects that have Ace shutting down again, he could notice the blond did his best to keep their conversations light and flowing.

But that’s all before today because they broke through that unspoken agreement.

Ace just returned from his slightly unsuccessful hunt of no meat but a lot of fruit and other vegetables that are hopefully edible, when he spotted Marco by himself and talking to nobody. Wondering about the blonde’s mental health, Ace sneaks closer to see what is going on. Upon closer inspection he can see that the blond isn’t talking to himself but somebody on the other end of the transporter snail.

The words fly right past Ace as anger starts to boil. Marco is trying to end his conversation as Ace makes his presence known. “You had a transporter snail all along and didn’t bother to tell me?!” He roars over the blond who drops the snail in shock. Ha, observation haki isn’t everything.

“Ace what—”

“Why did you keep that from me? We could’ve called for help; I could’ve let my superiors know where I am!”

Marco holds his hands up in an attempt to create some distance. “Before I explain, calm down Ace. There is nothing to get so worked up about, yoi.”

Ace actually growled at the man, not thinking twice as he launches himself at Marco. His fire burning brightly at the temperature of pure scalding when he draws back his fist, aiming between the man’s startled eyes.

Marco evades just in time, a little astonished at the sudden attack, but he recovers fast enough to defend himself. Blocking a few more of Ace’s punches with success before he gets a booted foot square into his stomach, and despite the man being able to heal his ever injury, he appeared to be in pain for a moment.

Seeing a window of opportunity, Ace puts all his focus into firing multiple attacks to the man as he gives him no time to recover. And much to Ace’s chagrin, Marco evades every single one of them, even countering a few that recoiled hard enough to almost send him flying if Ace wasn’t somewhat prepared.

Through the never ending stream of fiery firsts that fly around the man’s face, Marco tries to talk to Ace. With every block he tries to explain the situation or call out for him but Ace isn’t listening. And with every new apology the blond makes, Ace retaliates harder by adding more firepower.

Only when Marco grows annoyed at his failing attempt to reach out to Ace is when the man shows his true colors. Those being mesmerizing blue flames, highlighted by golden streaks as they dance around the blond in a wild dance, catching Ace completely off-guard.

With a grunt he falls to the floor, staring up at Marco in bewilderment as sharp phoenix talons hold his shoulders glued to the ground and piercing blue eyes gaze down on him. Distantly Ace is sure he heard some laughter but it’s drowned out by his own shock.

“Will you listen to me when I let you go?” Marco asks, sounding slightly out of breath and Ace feels proud that he worn such a strong pirate out.

And while his urge is there to shoot more fire at the flaming chicken that’s holding him down, Ace feels winded himself and settles for a nod. He rolls his shoulders to relieve some of the strain as Marco released his hold, those talons do have a serious vice-grip.

“Don’t think I didn’t plan on telling you, yoi.” Marco states before Ace can start his rant, transforming his talons back into his usual sandaled feet.

“Why wait this long? We’ve been here for over a week now, were you planning on keeping me in the dark this whole time?” Ace sneers impatiently, wanting his answers now.

He has a good reason to be pissed after all, his superiors as well as the lower ranking soldiers are waiting for him. Ace hadn’t been able to tell them where he is, and while he doesn’t mind that much, a rescue party would come in handy since he can’t leave the damn island.

 **“The boy has a point chicken, why didn’t you tell him?”** Ace hears a teasing laugh resounding from somewhere close, a little distorted as if the person is not with them at the moment.

“Thatch shut up; you’re not getting involved with this.” Marco picks up the transporter snail and glares at the poor thing, Ace wonders if it could even show the man’s searing glare properly.

 **“Stop glaring birdy, you need to tell him sometime.”** Another voice sounds, this one appearing a bit younger than the first.

Marco sighs gravely, looking done with his life for the first time since Ace has seen him. “I was going to, don’t worry, yoi. Things just sorta happened and I forget to tell him sooner.”

The laughing man from before, Thatch if Ace remembers correctly, sounds like he’s choking on air on the other side of the line. **“Then stop abusing that poor boy’s butt! Gosh Marco I thought better of you.”**

Ace momentarily forgets about his impending anger as red claims his face, making his freckles more prominent as he turns into a stuttering mess of denial. The only thing that’s helping in this predicament is that Marco also gained a nice flush, one that suits the man quite well.

“Thatch, one more word and I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll be flying for months.” Marco threatens the man but his voice sounds strained and flustered, something Thatch seems to take note of.

 **“I was right! Awe, poor birdy has been too busy fucking someone’s brains out on an abandoned island that he forgot the share the grand news!”** Thatch continues to tease, making both men turn into a whole new shade of red.

“Going to hang up.” Marco announced in a growl, looking completely done with everything.

 **“No wait~ we wanna talk to the hot marine you banged so hard he probably can’t sit—”** the distorted voice suddenly stopped with a loud ‘clank’ as Marco puts the horn down.

Marco takes a deep breath to gather himself before he dares looking at Ace, his earlier flush barely visible. “Sorry about that, yoi. They just heard some things and like to turn in into silly stories.”

Ace nods, he is still flustered and feeling more lost than before on reality. His rage completely forgotten in the moment as he only wants to know what exactly is going on.

“What… I’m not sure what’s going on?” He meant it as a statement but it leaves him in a question.

Marco sighs again before moving to one of the logs they use as a bench, sitting down and patting the spot next to him for Ace to join. He waits patiently for Ace to sit down before explaining.

“You can believe me or not, but I didn’t mean to hold this back from you. In the beginning I did, but not anymore.” He shakes his head before turning to Ace. “I contacted my family and asked them to pick me up, actually to pick the both of us up, yoi.”

Marco ignores Ace’s furrowed brows for the moment as he continues. “I wasn’t going to let you stay here with no means of leaving. No matter if you’re a marine or not, it’s unfair to leave someone behind. We even discussed ways of getting you back to sea without anyone ever seeing you with us.”

Ace feels a little confused. “And why couldn’t I know you had a transporter snail?” There’s too much information that makes no sense to him right now.

“The obvious choice you would’ve made would be to let the marines know you’re here. That means that when they come to pick you up, I am left to fend for myself. And we haven’t even discussed what they might do once they know you spend your time with a pirate without actively trying to kill me.” Marco explains as a matter of fact.

“Couldn’t you just… like, fly away or something?”

“I could, easily enough actually, yoi.”

Now Ace is sure he is extremely confused. “Then you didn’t you? You could’ve left a long time ago.” He’s just going to ignore that twinge in his heart at the thought of Marco abandoning him.

“Like I said, I wasn’t going to leave you behind. I can’t carry people for such a long flight and I figured you want Striker with you.”

Ace does his best to ignore the blossoming feelings that warm up his heart. Marco isn’t going to say that, he really isn’t going to, just let it go. He keeps reminding himself, pushing a certain hope that grown over the past few days down and not let it set aflame.

“But what…” he doesn’t even know what he wants to ask, too lost in his own conflicting feelings for a moment.

“You told me bits and pieces about your brother and the time when you were younger, yoi. Ace, I can tell you’re not happy among the marines, your countless stories make that much clear. You’re not a marine at heart, you never were. You’re a free soul that needs to live his life to his own accord, not that set up by the world government.”

“If you’re willing to take that step to your own growth; to become the man you truly are, then come with me. Join our crew and wear the mark on your back, show everyone what you’re truly worth, yoi. That you’re not some fancy chore boy that’s easy to dispatch or replaced. Become free Ace.”

Ace feels both heavy and light. Ever since the mention of Marco’s crew, his family, Ace wanted nothing more than to have something similar while at the same time hating his want. He feels thoroughly conflicted about everything.

“Why would you want me?” He asks uncertain.

“If you hadn’t noticed, you’re a fun person to hang out with. Not a single day had been boring with you Ace, you’re truly a good man. And besides that, when I mentioned a ‘fiery brat with a stomach the size of the Moby’, both Pops and Thatch wanted to meet you in person.” Marco laughs a little awkwardly. “So that and I’m curious to see where this might lead to, yoi.”

It takes a moment for Ace to understand what Marco refers to, a little lost in his own world at the moment. When those words do settle in however, his earlier flustered reaction returns along with his heart hammering excitedly in his chest. 

All sorts of thoughts shoot through his head, imagining what his life might be like if he accepts the invitation and joins the crew. Will he truly become the pirate he wanted to be when younger? Will the crew accept him despite wanting to meet him? Will he enjoy spending time with them and hopefully grow closer to Marco? Will they accept him after they find out about his father, about his well-kept secret? 

His heart calms down again, giving Ace more room to breath properly. His father and Whitebeard are rivals, there is no way the man would want to have the son of his rival aboard his ship. If they ever were to find out, he will be abandoned again, not even Marco would want to stay with him.

Ace sighs, this isn’t the moment to think about things like that. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.” He says with a mournful look, evading Marco’s eyes by looking down on the sand. “I have secrets that would make you hate me, me joining you wouldn’t do you any good.” His nails bite into the skin of his arm, causing for tiny flickers of fire to erupts from the wound.

A cold yet warming touch startled Ace from his thoughts, seeing Marco’s hand that covers his along with blue flames that spread over his arm. “Don’t think like that. Just because it’s something you don’t want to share that doesn’t mean it’s bad. We all have our own little secrets that we wish to keep to ourselves, afraid that others might judge, yoi. But knowing you for who you are, and I hope to get to know you even better, a secret isn’t going to make me, or the others, hate you. Not if we truly see you for who you are, not some made-up fabricated persona. You’re not whoever you think you are in that secret, you’re you, yoi.”

Ace has to look away from those eyes that shine brightly with sincerity. He feels his uncertainty slowly diminish as something warm settles in his heart. Yet despite his yearning to believe Marco’s every word, his past keeps haunting him and tries to hold on to his earlies beliefs. 

“Pops will be here either tomorrow or the day after, take that time to decide for yourself. If this isn’t what you want then we’ll get you back on sea with Striker, and if you wish to give it a shot than you’re free to do so.” Marco intertwines his fingers with Ace, making him stop scratch himself as a distraction.

“The choice is yours Ace, just think about it.”

Ace takes a deep breath, calming the many fluttering emotions that are whirling up and make thinking straight a little harder than usual. Even though he might have figured out what he truly wants, he will take some time to gather his thoughts. “I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I could ask for, yoi.” Marco smiles down on him before leaning in, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss.

When Ace was sure he had his eradicated heartbeat under control, Marco finds new ways to fluster him. He can even feel the man smirking against his lips when he gasped in shock.

“A small preview of what you might get when you decide to join.” Marco teases as he leans back. He winks as he stands up and turns to the sea, walking away with a dismissive wave. “Going to see if I can catch some fish since your hunt wasn’t as successful.”

Flustered and driven by a new sort of hunger, Ace shoots after the man and bodily tackles him to the ground. No way he’s going to leave it at such a small preview when they got at least a full day of being by themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I partly forgot the actual seducing part, it turned more into Marco bonding with Ace and then convincing him to join them xD But he shall be seduced just before the Moby will arrive ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Always wanted to try a marine Ace fic so I'm glad you requested it. Hope you liked it! :3
> 
>  **[EDIT]** Okay wow, I never thought this fic would get this many requests for a second part, like whaaattt x3 Don't worry though, I shall make a second part in which Ace gets to meet the crew and makes his decision for real (also some shameless birb flirts that will probably make you cringe because I can't think of good flirts xD)


	9. Time Traveler [Ace/Reader]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When an opportunity arises to fix the things that have happened in the past, she can't let this chance slip by. However, things don't always go the way you plan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by: Sousie  
> Tags: Time travel, angst, mentioned character death, mentioned underage child at war, trauma, reunions (sorta)
> 
> Also, very sorry for those that just got a notification on Treasure Island. I messed up and selected the wrong work to add this chapter to xD

[y/n] wakes up drenched in sweat, her clothes sticking to her body like second skin as she gasps for air. Her heart thundering in her chest, hands violently shaking as she presses one against the violent beating drum. 

Another nightmare. They keep coming back at her whenever her eyes close, sleep always their prime target.

The images containing blood and death, moving pictures showing swords skewered into men while others are decapitated, but no screams. Never the screams. Those are the worst; images relaying the agonizing howls of pain, screaming and begging till their last breath. They never end, engraved in her mind and coming out to haunt her; torment her.

Making her remember how useless she was, how utterly powerless she felt when that red-hot fist drilled through the one person that meant the world to her. How bloody and death he looked as he spoke his last words, his brother’s face paralyzed in distress. How broken the entire crew looked as he fell down with the last breath leaving him, content smile on his face.

Those images are the worst. Not to mention seeing her father die right in front of her…

[y/n] shakes her head, exhaling a shaky breath before pushing herself out of bed. Nothing good would come from laying around and lingering on those nightmares. It’s in the past… for now.

Without missing a beat she gets dressed, packing the few items she brought along the journey in her favorite bag. It is small and not that special looking, yet to her the watermelon patterned bag means a lot. [y/n] gathers the last of her stuff, dawdling on the black notebook in her hands. The hardcover is stained and has several tears along the sides, even the pages have had their best days by now, but it is one of her most prized possessions. If she loses this then all will be for naught.

She shakes her head once more and throws the bag over her shoulder. Despite it being so full of items, [y/n] forgot the add enough beli to pay for food and in this case, the room in the inn she rented. So instead of paying like any good citizen, [y/n] jumps out the window and scales over the roof. When she has enough money she will come back and pay her debt, however, now is not the time for such trivial matters.

A good distance away from the city and some stolen food from market stalls later, [y/n] finds herself sitting against a tree to gather her thoughts for the next steps in her plan.

From her backpack she gathers the black book, a pen and some paper. She flips the book open to the page that matches this day, closing her eyes for a moment before focusing on the page in front of her.

_‘March 14. We visited Ryugu Kingdom, the first time I got to see it with my own eyes after all the stories they told me. It’s such an intriguing concept; the underwater city with merfolk and fish-men. But it’s beautiful nonetheless.  
Commander Izo had taken me to some of his favorite shops and bought me so many clothes that I wonder if the Moby could ever carry them. Then Commander Thatch and Ace went food shopping with me, Ace even sneaked me a few pieces without Commander Thatch noticing.  
Commander Marco and Pops had been talking things over with the King, but I have no clue what exactly, Commander Marco was mean and didn’t want to tell me. He is being a mean chicken and Commander Thatch said he is going to pluck him bald and sauté him for dinner if he doesn’t play nice.’_

[y/n] laughs at the horribly written page in the diary, picturing the scene like it happened yesterday. As a sixteen year old she really butchered most of the words, it is only thanks to Marco that she learned how to properly write. She shakes her head, as much as [y/n] enjoys the fun tidbits about the past, she skims the text for the information she was actually searching for.

_‘… one of the islands in the New World is our destination; Stoughfell Reef. Commander Marco said it’s known for its trade routes and we could get some good stuff from there. Together with Ace I navigated our way there and we’re almost there! I’m so happy that Ace is teaching me these things, he’s the best commander!’_

Tears fall from her eyes and [y/n] shuts the book with an audible snap. It still hurts, so much. Her heart feels like it might jump out at any moment to just run away, she might even tear it out herself so she wouldn’t have to feel this stinging pain anymore.

Two years. So much time has passed and yet for everything around her nothing has. But [y/n] has grieved for the past two years by herself, unable to share the pain and too scared to tell others. Everyone was dealing with their own problems; how could she possibly be that selfish and demand attention from others.

And now she doesn’t want anyone to comfort her. Because what could she even say to those that want to comfort her? I come from the future and saw the people most precious to me die right in front of my eyes, now I’m here to make sure it doesn’t happen again…

That is by far the worst thing to ever tell anyone, just at first glance one would think she needs mental help.

[y/n] sighs, letting herself fall on her back and stare up at the trees that surround her. It really has been two years since everything happened, yet she has done nothing useful.

Sadness and pain had played a huge part in the first few months and eventually changed into guilt. Guilt because she couldn’t do anything to stop Ace from going after Teach, guilt because she couldn’t do anything when Ace was captured, guilt because after they broke Ace free she couldn’t keep him with her. Guilt because so many important people died while she stood by and watched.

After the first year [y/n] finally came to terms with her feelings, accepting that while she couldn’t do anything to safe her family, she still has a chance. Together with Marco she set a plan in action, trying to relocate their destinations from years before so [y/n] could at least try to create a better future.

Her diary helped a lot when they tried to recreate the timeline. But despite all their careful planning, arriving back in time and actually making her way through each island proved more of a problem than she thought. 

Somewhere along the line they had found about a way to travel through time. The details are still a giant mix of randomness for [y/n] but Marco managed to decipher it with ease. The only problem with her traveling back in time was that there would be no way to go back to her ‘real’ future. One is only allowed to make a single trip; either going forth or back in time, after that you shall never return to your original timeline. 

That did cause for a few fights because Marco didn’t want her to sacrifice herself for something she might not be able to stop after all. Some things are set in stone and thus can’t be changed. But in the end he relented, promising to help her with everything he could and making [y/n] vow that she would never blame herself if things didn’t go as they hoped.

Now it is almost a year since she arrived here and actually catching up with the crew isn’t going the way she hoped. They move fast and don’t stay in one place for too long, which eventually turns into her running around like crazy without properly resting. 

Before the war, [y/n] was the youngest to join the crew, being fifteen at the time but brimming with passion. Pops had taken a liking to her the moment he saw her and [y/n] loved the crew ever since day one. Everyone was nice to her and treated her like one of their own, however they did like to shield her from many things and wished to keep her safe at all times.

Especially Ace had taken it to himself to become her personal guard, going everywhere she went and doing his best to keep her safe. He taught her most of the things she knows and honestly [y/n] has always been grateful to her commander for that. Seeing him hurt and dying after the year they spend so closely together had cut her deeply.

That is why she is back and that is why she isn’t going to give up.

The night that Thatch died is in less than two months so she needs to hurry and find them. Her letters may have reached them already but perhaps she should try to convince them herself about the upcoming events.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, [y/n] ignores all her previous worries for a moment before she hoists herself up. Quickly scribbling a few details on the blank paper before her that in some way should gain some trust from the crew. Before she heads out to sea again she will give this one to one of the News Coos.

  


— **O** — 

  


It is two weeks later that their paths finally crossed and to say [y/n] is anxious might be an understatement. 

Some division members spotted her early on and notified the commanders of her odd behavior. Which in turn was fair, she did stalk around and watch them from afar like she had never seen human life in a long time. But in all honesty, it was because she was taken aback by seeing everyone together and alive again. Despite the two years that have passed, the war haunts her memories as if it never ended. Taunting; mocking her for her own uselessness, weakness at being unable to protect those dear to her.

Her carefully laid put plan had been for naught the moment Commander Atmos walked up to her, grabbed the back of her shirt and literally dragged [y/n] to the ship. Somewhere along the line [y/n] forgot that while the Whitebeard pirates are nice people, they don’t take nicely to those that stare at their crew as if planning an ambush.

In the end it brings her to this current situation; standing in front of Whitebeard’s throne while most commanders and division members blocked her every exit. Not that she wants to leave, despite the hostile welcome, the Moby Dick will always feel like home.

“And what brings you here child?” How she missed Pops’ voice rumble through the open air anytime he addresses to he, calling her his daughter instead of child.

This certainly wasn’t a part of the plan. Sure, [y/n] wanted to catch up to them, but actually talking with everyone wasn’t something she planned on doing. At least not now. The only contact she had with them was through letters which she only signed with her initials. Truly talking with them would mean getting close too soon and it would only hurt to see everyone she cares for alive before dying if she would fail.

And yet, a selfish part of her wants to indulge. That is why she couldn’t stay back and had to watch everything up close, that is why she put most of her efforts in catching up with them. She wanted to see them again and be a part of the crew once more, not some unknown messenger that holds no bonds with them—the people she truly loves with all her heart.

“I… got lost.” Her words questioning and she doesn’t blame the look of disbelief that flickers over Marco’s face. Pops not far behind but covers it better with a raised brow, challenging [y/n] to expound on that.

“I-I really did. I mean, why would I watch over your crew, it’s not like I can do a whole lot by myself.” Poor choice of words. Very, _very_ , poor choice of words.

That only becomes more apparent as Marco steps forward, frown etched into his face as blue fire dances on his shoulders. Even Jozu squared up a little more than necessary and from a single glance she can see how nearly everyone is reaching for their weapons.

_Ah, I’m going to die_

“Calm down you hot-headed brats.” Pops roars over the impending silence but [y/n] feels far from saved. “A deer wouldn’t throw itself in front of the wolves for no reason. I’m sure the young lass has something of interest to tell us.” There is no smile present on the man’s face, set like stone as he glares down, not even bothering to angle his head. Voice holding a threat that [y/n] immediately recognizes.

[y/n] is in debate with herself, arguing whether or not to tell the truth. She could, just announce she is the one sending the letters and that she came from the future to stop the dreadful thing she witnessed. But in a single glance she had spotted Teach, comfortably standing between members of second division like all is well. If she outs who she truly is then Teach will either go after her of will change his plans, to which both isn’t something that [y/n] can afford to happen in this moment.

“I am… all alone.” [y/n] sighs, a bit of truth wouldn’t hurt her case. “My family fell apart and I’m all there’s left now. The only thing I want is to go on with my life and accomplish the things they couldn’t, I hold no grudge towards you or your crew for that matter.”

Pops looks contemplating, weighing down her answer and checking for anything that might be a lie. The sudden hush that falls over everyone is unbearable, filled with clashing emotions, and it only dissipates as a lively figure jumps aboard.

“You make it sound like I did that on purpose, I can’t help that I get forgetful.”

“At this point I’m willing to bet it’s no longer forgetful but merely a new hobby. You’re definitely doing it on purpose and you make me deal with the aftermath.”

Boisterous laughter erupts from behind and captures everyone’s attention in the moment, turning towards the duo with several stages of exasperation. Two mean appear, one with dark and unruly hair and the other blue, the latter clearly scolding the other but the dark-haired man doesn’t seem too bothered. It is only when they take note of the crowd in front of them that they stop, asking what everyone is doing before their eyes fall upon [y/n].

And during that time [y/n] felt like she had an out of body experience as she watched Ace and Deuce walk onboard, smiling brightly and joking like usual. Her commander, the one person that would put all things aside to help her out, the only one who didn’t see her as a helpless child. He is alive. Brimming with nothing but passion, shining brighter than the sun. 

Her minds begins reminiscing on the good times, remembering when Ace would teach her new things and would joke around with her, teach the best ways to defend herself and surpass her limits. Needless to say, [y/n] was a little too lost in her own world to overhear the next question.

“Who’re you?”

Dumbfounded she stares at Ace, still overwhelmed by so many emotions coursing through her at the same time, the only thing she could manage is a stuttering reply of her first name, not daring to say anymore.

“[y/n]…? Nothing more?”

She is about so answer that, yes she has a last name and she will gladly give it to them, but then she remembers the letters she has been sending. There has to be only one person who puts one and one together and they will know her initials match that of the letters.

“My last name isn’t important, [y/n] will suffice for now.”

Pops’ laugh breaks the odd tension that was slowly growing between [y/n] and Ace. Seems like the dark-haired commander is not entirely convinced.

“Then lass, what was your plan by hiding and sneaking up to my sons?” That gained a curious look from Ace while [y/n] quickly spins around to face the giant of a man.

She had not thought of a comeback for that question. And if she is being honest with herself, she has no idea why exactly she did was she did in the first place. Everything seemed more like a random intuition of instincts that made her want to be close to them once again, but she can’t say that. And as luck would have it, her fumbling reply is cut short as Ace interferes.

“She doesn’t seem too bad. You sure she was stalking; doesn’t strike me as ninja material.” Men from second division go along with his tease and laugh among themselves.

“On what do you base that conclusion Ace? It’s not like you know much from just looking at her, yoi.” Marco quirks his eyebrow towards the freckled commander.

“As if you know more about her than the rest of us.” Ace barks back immediately and [y/n] watches as Marco looks away, slightly flustered. “Her aura is calm and doesn’t seem to be hiding something, what could she possibly do?”

[y/n] is mildly confused on how fast Ace stood up for her. He barely seen her and yet he defends her like he has known her for year—which is accurate in another timeline. 

“Whatever she did it’s probably not as bad.” Ace shrugs his shoulders, looking like that was the last he is going to say on the matter. Most commanders suppress the urge to facepalm, but Deuce doesn’t.

Pops does nothing but laugh at the entire scene, not bothering to stop the bickering as several crew members and commanders tell Ace that nobody would be as openly vengeful like him and kill their captain head-on on a daily basis. Which in turn almost sparked an all-out brawl between the men if it wasn’t for the old man’s interference.

“[y/n], if you got no place to go, how about you join my crew and become my daughter?” Not only [y/n] but everyone else on deck turned to the man in complete shock, wondering if they heard it right.

As the commanders ask for explanation and wonder if the old man has lost his mind, he responds with a simple, “I’m willing to see if Ace’s bet is right, besides, we have enough open jobs for new recruits.” 

Watching the rest of the conversation unfold, [y/n] remains glued on the spot. She thought actually convincing the crew to let her join when the time comes would be a difficult task, seems that she worried about absolutely nothing.

A large hand claps on her shoulder and shakes [y/n] out of her stunned state, turning to meet the owner attacked to the hand.

“They’re not as bad as they look, don’t worry. I’m Portgas D. Ace, second division commander, if you ever need anything just come and find me.” His smile is bright and [y/n] feels something warm her from the inside at that simple gesture, it is an unknown feeling but welcome nonetheless.

She responds with a weak thank you as Ace walks away, bickering with someone along the way about something food related. Feeling lost in the one place that gives her a sense of comfort, [y/n] remains on her spot and wonders what she needs to do next.

“Come on, I’ll take you to your room [y/n].” Marco’s voice grounds her and she turns to meet the blond, nodding before he turns around and leads the way.

Despite the familiar feeling that whirls up inside of her, it feels weird to walk along the hallways of the Moby—she hasn’t set foot here for the last two years. Marco leads her to a room that used to belong to her before she jumped to the past, causing for nostalgic memories to arise as she looks around.

“You can decorate it how you see fit.” Marco takes note of her staring, thinking she was unimpressed with the room perhaps. “Rest for today, dinner will be in two hours and is announced by bell. Tomorrow we discuss your role with us, yoi.”

“Yes, thank you.” Marco lets a smile slip through his tough exterior, nodding to her before closing the door behind him as he leaves.

[y/n] flops down on the bed, with this change in plans she needs to think of a new way to distribute those letters, or maybe just tell them. Sighing and rolling over she stares at the ceiling, better to figure this out tomorrow.

  


— **O** — 

  


The first few weeks with the crew flew by like time was nonexistent. [y/n] busied herself with several small tasks to show her worth and that payed off pretty fast, Marco requested for her to join second division and help out with navigation seeing as she had a decent grasp of direction. But what they didn’t know is that she learned all of that from Ace, the one who is once again in charge of her and judging her skills—skills he taught her without even knowing off.

The concepts feel foreign to her, still skeptical of everything that has happened in the past and unable to grasp at the reality she is faced with now. Most caught her staring; eyes void of light and soulless looking into the distance, questioning life itself as everything seem too good to be true. And yet, no one has said something to her, not questioning her sudden absence of usual bright personality. They only walks up to her with jokes and effectively snap her out of that state that appears unfitting in their eyes.

For the short time that has passed, the bond [y/n] shares with the crew has grown tight. She tries to let go of her previous ties with the men, focusing on the ones before her right now and wanting to get to know them. But the funny thing about the past is that while it might no longer be present, it will follow your every step into the future. Hiding behind every broken corner and just waiting to show itself, barely concealed for bystanders and a single step to the side is enough to see the shadows lurking from behind her. 

And that shadow keeps growing every day. Now that the time is slowly dragging nearer, it is barely hidden and it scares [y/n] that she needs to share this. It is what she wants, more than anything actually, but she is worried about so many things concerning to truth. A truth that might sound like an insane story told by those that seek nothing but thrill and live off the sheer angst others emit at such falsities. 

But worries like these are thrown away, locked in the deepest parts of her mind as she needs to uphold her vibrant personality to show the men she is alright. Everyone is just getting along with their ‘new sister’, it wouldn’t do good to make them worry over her. After all, in less than three weeks they have more important matters to worry about.

Next to the impending worries that seem to grow larger every day, [y/n] has grown close with the commanders once again. It might have been the reason on how she joined and them wanting to keep an eye on her, but [y/n] feels like that might not be the actual reason anymore. They were close friends in her past, them being close again is only natural.

One thing isn’t however, natural that is, as Ace is a completely different version of himself.

While that is an exaggerated observation from her side, it holds a sense of truth in it. Ace behaves a little too nice towards [y/n] and tends to seek her out even more than ‘her Ace’ would on a normal evening. And it leaves [y/n] baffled and slightly worried. If Ace isn’t the same person as he used to be in her future, then maybe Blackbeard might be different as well, making her plans against the man pointless.

That only causes for the hiding shadows to grow, making her more and more worried about what is about to come in approximately two week.

“Frowning doesn’t suit you y’know, you’re more radiant when you’re smiling.” A soft voice startles [y/n] from her deep in-thought discussions. A yelp escapes her as he jumps, turning to face the culprit of this evening’s disturbance. It is only when she gazes into the onyx eyes that are forever engraved into her memory that she relaxes. 

“Damnit Ace, don’t sneak up on me like that.” [y/n] snaps, unbeknownst to her slipping back into her usual persona when around the freckled male.

“Oh~ Ace is it now? What about commander, have I become unworthy of the title?” A sly smirk plays on his lips, matching his teasing tone well enough.

Red blooms in her face as [y/n] hauntingly remembers how she refers to every and all commander with the actual title instead of their names. She always used to do so but after the war she stopped, and with Ace she quickly learned to call him by his name because he didn’t want her to call him commander.

“I-I… I mean, c-commander… you just… I…” Ace tried to muffle his laugh but fails to do so as several other deck occupants turn to watch the spectacle, seeing their commander nearly toppled over as if he is drunk on laughter. By now [y/n] is pretty sure her face matches a tomato and despite not having devil fruit powers, she certainly feels on fire.

“You really are cute. I was only joking, don’t take it so seriously. Call me whatever you feel more comfortable with.”

“Alright, idiot fire-face.” [y/n] deadpans, making the few men that overheard that jab laugh in sputters and giggles.

Ace huffs a laugh, looking a little put off but it doesn’t seem to affect him as much. “Was worth a shot,” shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway why the long face, it really doesn’t suit you.”

“It’s nothing, really, just… some things from the past.” And future she wants to add but decides against it in time.

“You shouldn’t cling to your past.” Out of everything he could have said, [y/n] did not think it would be this two-faced. She knows well enough how Ace’s past was always a trigger for him, he might not always show this but it was clear in the way he carries himself. Adding in the fact that she _knows_ who his father is, _his real father_ , that explains a lot from him. Yet she turns to face him with a look of incredulity, not knowing why he would contradict himself.

“I mean, it’s hard to let go of your past and it shaped you into the person you are today, but don’t let it rule over you. Nothing good will come from that and I can vouch for it. It’s a lot to ask and you don’t have to, but just try to shape the future how you want it to, ignore the voices in the back of your mind that try to make you believe things aren’t true.”

Incredulity shifts into shock and admiration. [y/n] has never seen this side of him, never known how truly mature he could be when all he usually did was joke around with her. But that was when she was a teen, now she is somewhere in her late adolescence and thus considered a woman in the eyes of some.

“But, don’t take the word from someone who’s still figuring things out.” Ace smiles, halting the small realization that began unfolding within her. 

“You’re all talk then?” [y/n] taunts back, her mind reeling on too many things at the same time, things she feels sure about but questions all the same. And yet this isn’t only addressed to his earlier motivational speech, but a silent inquiry to other things that have transpired before this night.

“Oh I follow up on my word, don’t you worry about that.” His eyes sweep over her before holding their gaze with her [e/c] orbs; challenging to take the next step both know is there.

Uncontrollable shivers roll down her body, goosebumps litter her arms as the air becomes thin enough to vaporize within her lungs. This man has been someone she looked up to from the moment they met and he has been nothing but supportive of her every step along the way.

So why, why in the maiden’s name is he so blatantly flirting with her.

She knows, she would be a damn idiot if she didn’t know, yet she can’t comprehend the exact why’s to this. Now only that, she is confused as to how come she is _this_ affected by his stare and the lingering promise that clings to his words. It wasn’t like this a few days ago, so why now.

Ace has been nothing but helpful since the day she arrived and showered her with praises and flirts whenever he could. So she knew, knows it all too well what he is doing, but a part of her keeps refusing to believe it. Feeling unworthy of his love because of everything she is keeping from him.

He who is fighting his past demons, he who appears as a bundle of light and joy to those around him, he who is courteous at the weirdest of times, he who wields fire with an ambition that grows beyond others. It is him who doesn’t know of the future that is about to come. The horrors that she witnessed during the war that will never leave her memories. 

And it is her that needs to share this information so it doesn’t happen—again. 

“You’ll hate me when you know who I truly am.” She finds herself stating, unable to yield to the spark that is ever growing between them despite the darkness that lurks around her back.

“That makes two of us.”

Wind blows around the two souls, underneath the moonlight that unveils their bodies within the darkness, the two mold together as one. Away from prying eyes they move, closing their bond in private as the night carries on.

  


— **O** — 

  


With almost a week left till the night of betrayal, [y/n] has become restless. Everyone with eyes has seen it; the impatient pacing around, the obvious fidgety movements ranging from bouncing on her feet to picking her nails.

And yet, every time someone asks if she is alright, she gives them the same static answer; ‘yeah, everything’s fine’. But it is not, far from fine in all honesty.

Over a month has passed since she joined the crew and she hasn’t said a word to anyone about her true self, not mentioning the horrors that are about to come.

She knows that Ace has a feeling something is going on, she can see it in the worried looks he gives her at different times of the day. Doesn’t matter if it is morning and they just woke up, if they eat together, when she is doing tasks and even during their alone time. But he doesn’t want to ask, or at least, that is how [y/n] sees it.

She should, tell him that is. It is the fair thing to do and he needs to know, all of them need to know.

The letters she used to frequently send have simmered down to only three in the last weeks, a huge difference to her almost daily letters. Seeing as she can’t give them to the News Coo’s anymore, she had to get creative with how those letters would suddenly ‘appear’ onboard. And that proved a whole lot more difficult with the amount of men prancing about.

“What’s the matter my daughter?” Pops’ voice interrupts her racing mind. “You’ve been awfully worried for some time now; everyone seems to notice that. But then again, it’s not difficult to spot.”

[y/n] is unable to do anything but offer a weak smile, anxiety clawing at her thundering heartbeat and making breathing much more difficult. _This is it_ ; she tells herself; _I’m going to do it and tell him_. Her mental pep talk seeming to work before the old man hits her with a question that leaves her nothing but profusely confused. 

“Don’t tell me that fiery brat did something bad, just tell me and I’ll kick his ass.” His iconic laughter roars over the ship as [y/n] turns bright red, practically able to merge with any sheet of red paper.

“What… no, what?” She stumbles for a proper reply. Unable to tell the man and her father figure that Ace in fact did nothing bad to her and has been supportive of everything she does.

“Lighten up will ya, Ace isn’t the type to harm anyone without reason. _Gurararara_. It has been some time since I saw something else than a frown or a fake smile adorn your face. Now tell me what’s truly bothering you.”

Feeling both relieved and anxious at the same time, the color in her face is gradually returning as she gazes up to the old man, nothing but determination written all over her features. This time she is going to tell what is going on and won’t scramble back last minute, they have a right to know.

“Can we talk in private Pops?” Her captain smiles at her before pointing in the direction of the captain’s quarters.

As [y/n] walks along with Pops to discuss the one thing that has been bothering for weeks, she did not overhear the conversation that is going on close by.

“Awe, looky at you~ all worried about your girlfriend. Pops’ not going to eat her y’know.”

Ace growls at the men surrounding him. His division members may be funny and nice people, but at certain times they tend to tease him endlessly for odds to end. Especially ever since [y/n] set foot aboard the Moby Dick and he defended her, even more so when he openly started flirting with her.

Not like he can help it. She looks good and happens to be a fun person to hang out with, no matter that he barely knows her. Something feels familiar with her and he doesn’t care what it might be, all he wants is for her to be happy.

“If you’re that worried, why not talk to her?” Izo’s voice cuts over the rest of the men and Ace looks at the crossdresser with a slight dumbfounded look.

“We’re not all oblivious Ace, she’s struggling with something and you seem to be in a similar situation. If you really want to help, then talk to her and be honest, yoi.” Marco appears from behind the crossdresser, stack of papers in hand.

“She wouldn’t want to stay if she hears the truth.” Ace mutters darkly, whatever fire there was in his eyes diminished at his looming thoughts alone.

“And that’s what you say, but I don’t believe that.” Marco smiles at him and Ace feels thoroughly confused. “Just because you happen to sleep with her doesn’t mean you know all there is, yoi. Talk to her and you’ll find out.” With a lazy wave Marco turns around, continuing whatever job he was originally doing.

“He’s right and you know it.” Izo claps him on the back. “You both might be closer to one another than you think, just take the time to properly talk with her and you’ll see.” It was all the advice Ace got since Izo walked off in the same direction as Marco did.

Maybe he should try to talk with her.

Meanwhile in the captain’s quarters.

“Now, what is it you want to discuss?” Pops hums as he takes a seat in his chair, gesturing to the stool across from him.

[y/n] takes a seat, face down as she stumbles to find her words. “I haven’t been completely honest with you.” Carefully she gazes upwards, holding in her breath as the old man frowns.

“I know I should’ve said so earlier and I’m sorry for keeping this but I… I wasn’t sure how I had to tell you this.” She continues as the unvoiced push for explanation becomes unbearable.

“I’m not from here, and I don’t mean the New World for that matter. I’ve come from the future, well not _this_ future but one that might end similar soon enough. It’s hard to explain and I don’t remember all the details honestly. Marco tried to explain but… oh, not this Marco but Marco from my time. A-anyway he—”

“That’s enough lass.” Pops cuts off the noncoherent rambling [y/n] was about to start, her nerves getting the better of her and she lost track of what she wanted to say. “Just stay calm, word for word, that way I can understand. Start over.”

[y/n] takes a deep breath, steeling her jittery nerves before facing the man again. This time she doesn’t ramble, her explanation clear and on point—most of the time. She tells him about the time travelling she did, how she managed to locate them through old records which lead for her reason in sending all those letters, with her hidden intend on warning them. Reaching the part of why exactly she jumped back in time is promptly stopped as a large hand obscures her face.

“I don’t want to know what happened,” and because [y/n] is about to protest on that. “It’s better for me not to know, better for all of us.” The pointed look is enough to stop any form of struggle she was about to show.

“Y’know, I had a feeling you were the one behind those letters.” Confusion floods her face and Pops barks a laugh at the look. “The daily delivery stopped when you showed up, a little hard not to see the connection there. We were trying to find you, but since you already arrived I called of the search.”

“Why did you try to find me?”

“A mystery person that has all sorts of knowledge on you and likes to inform you of every step you’ve taken and are about to make, not like I can ignore that now, can I? His eyebrow quirks in a way that holds fondness but also in a look that says, ‘isn’t it obvious’.

“And what did you plan on doing after you’d found me?” Worry coils in her stomach for some reason and a part of her isn’t ready for the answer that is about to come.

“That, my daughter, depends on what your intentions are.” Worry morphs into fear and [y/n] can’t stop the shiver that rolls down her back. “Forgive an old man for his rash words, we know you well enough to see there is no threat coming from you. Otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten this close with a certain commander of mine.” [y/n] can feel her face heat up.

“Well then, I think it’s time you explain just _what_ you want to avoid. I don’t need to know the whole story, just the part that matters for now.”

“Thatch will return soon from his mission, and he’ll bring back something special. A devil fruit, the yami-yami no mie, known as a logia type that controls darkness. I’m not completely familiar with its powers but it can nullify other devil fruit powers and even suck things in. It’s truly a horrible fruit when in the wrong hands.”

“And I take that it falls into the wrong hands?” Pops scratches his chin, contemplative as he watches [y/n] with a keen eye.

“Teach will take it for his own. If not stopped… he will kill Thatch and take it before abandoning ship.” She wants to say more, tell her father exactly what will happen but refrains from doing so by the man’s orders.

“As much as I want to believe you, because I trust you and believe you wouldn’t impose on my trust, I can’t just turn against my sons like that. I’ll heed your words and do things my way.” Pops adds the last part before [y/n] could have a say in the matter.

“Now I believe you have a certain someone waiting for you. Don’t worry too much about Teach, I’ll make sure things are in order for that. Just be with that idiot of a brat.” The smile [y/n] receives is warm, easing her worrying thoughts a little, and she nods.

With a thank you and a hug she leaves the captain’s quarters, set to see a fiery commander and speak with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ends a little abruptly and I apologize for that. The reason is that I got stuck halfway through the story and therefore couldn't picture the ending how I wanted to. My writers block is slowly picking up again and I'm not loving that, it's the reason why I closed the requests of for a bit. 
> 
> As for the story; Reader joined the WBP at age 15 and witnessed the war at age 16 (Ace being 20 at the time) she grieved for at least a year on Sphinx before picking up the pieces together with Marco and at age 18 jumped back in time. Now time traveling is a _very_ confusing concept so this one works in the way that one can jump back in time but can't ever return to their original timeline (same with going to the future). The 'real her' that exists at that time just isn't there anymore and therefore the one jumping into that timeline becomes the new 'original' but people won't remember the other her for who she is, nor will they recognize the new her (wow, confuse)   
> Okay, so this is like based on time travel stuff I know off (which isn't a lot) so don't take it by heart xD
> 
> Despite this being a little unfinished, I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think of it! :3


	10. Rescue bird [Marco/Ace]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a firefighter has its perks from time to time, and this one comes in the shape of a cute bird that allows Ace to meet an interesting man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags: Birds, firefighter!Ace, horrible flirt, one-shot

“Ace…” said in exasperation by the blond sitting at the dining table, laptop blaring in the background with an ongoing meeting.

“Yes.” The innocent response gaining a groan from the blond, having turned his laptop off and slowly walking up to the man.

A single digit pointing to his hands with a frown etched into the scarred face. “What’s that?”

“A bird, can’t you see?” Sounding almost bored if one didn’t catch the hint of obviousness in his tone, a clear ‘duh’.

“But you don’t like birds, why did you get one now?” Confusion, clear in his features and voice as the blond stares at the blue fuzzy ball in his brother’s hands.

Ace, while being an obnoxious little shit at times, is very caring of animals. Yet the certain love he is expressing for the, not so small, bird in his hands is a form of affection Sabo hasn’t seen before. Usually Ace didn’t take to birds this well, something about them not being cuddly like cats and dogs or how the feathers freak him out.

So there is very little explanation why Ace is cradling the blue colored bird like it is his new baby. Especially since he hasn’t changed out of his usual firemen attire, forgoing his jacket and helmet.

“It’s a rescue from the burning building, y’know, the one at Whitebeard corporation. The poor thing was all by itself and how could I say no to this cute face.”

The ‘cute face’ is promptly pushed into Sabo’s direction, close enough that he sees not one but two blurry birds in his brother’s hands.

“How are beady eyes and a large beak cute…” Sabo muttered, heaving a sigh as Ace shoots him a reprimanding look.

Moving the bird out for view for the blond, “you’re just jealous that I found a cute pet.” Accentuated with a pout that should not be on the face of a man that rushes into burning buildings without the fear of death.

“No Ace, you can’t keep it. That bird belongs to someone, go find its owner.” The bird seems to understand, chattering at the word owner like it knows what Sabo said.

The logical thing to do would be to find its owner. Whoever the bird might belong to, they are bound to be worried about their feathery friend since it disappeared after the fire. 

It had been all on the news, Sabo remembers with clarity, the reporters all screeching and screaming into their mics as pieces of the building slowly collapsed, Ace rushing out with the mention of being needed ASAP. How the fire started is something that has yet to be determined, but Whitebeard corp. is one of the largest, if not largest, businesses in all of the Grand Line. The loss they shared today will surely burn their back for time to come, until they reach the summit once more.

“Stingy.” Ace relented; Sabo can see it in his eyes. He is unsure of this sudden connection his brother shares with the bird, but even a blind man could see that Ace is willing to push his own moment of happiness aside if that means bringing the bird back to its owner.

Now he only needs to figure out what sort of bird this is and what the proper way would be to find its owner.

  


_~A few days later~_

  


Posters having been scattered around and on social media they made sure to spread the word to as many different animal lovers as possible. All with the hope to find the bird’s owner, who, after careful research conducted by Sabo, happens to be a Quaker Parrot with a blue mutation. 

The search would take days, weeks, before they find the rightful owner of the blue parrot. According to Ace’s words that is, because none of that was even remotely true.

Within two days of posting the pictures and hanging posters around the city they got a call, someone recognizing the blue fuzzball and desperately asking to meet them. Ace didn’t want to give in at first but hearing the pleading tone made him change his mind. For a bit.

“Can’t we just say Nugget flew off and we don’t know where he went? I don’t wanna give him away.” A pouting Ace sits on the couch, the parrot dubbed Nugget in his hold and sleeping peacefully. Despite the short time, Nugget seemed to have taken a liking to Ace.

“It’s not so much giving away as it is returning the bird, Ace. And stop calling him Nugget, that’s weird on many levels.” Sabo scrunches up his nose, rolling his eyes as Ace stares at him dumbfounded.

“Why?”

“Because you _just_ ate chicken nuggets, don’t you see the problem here? Don’t you have shame?” He rants, he knows he does but Sabo just needs Ace to understand the importance to this.

Instead, Ace shrugs and scratches Nugget underneath his beak, receiving content chatter in return. “But he’s so cute and squishy, just like a chicken nugget. Ergo, Nugget.” Stating like it is the most obvious thing in the whole world.

Sabo is on his way to counter that because there is very little to no logic in those words. The obnoxious ring of their way too loud doorbell halts his words however, notifying them both of the arrival of Nugget’s owner.

“The guy’s here, please just behave Ace. I think that _Nugget_ will be glad to see his owner again.” Sabo shoots him a pointed look as Ace is about to retort, shutting him up for a moment until he turns his back to the pouting man.

“You say that but I don’t believe it. The man left him in a burning building.” The vocalization of his statement would work if in fact the man had deliberately left his bird in there _knowing_ of a fire, but Sabo doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think he had a lot of choice on that matter, not like he anticipated on a fire. Now shush.” Throwing almost literal daggers at his brother as he tries to stall more time.

They walk to the door, Ace whining and groaning all the way with the bird in his hands, completely relaxed and sagging in his hold.

The silence that took over when the door opened is filled with Nugget chirping in excitement as he spots the man in the doorway. Blond, tall, stubble and blue eyes, neatly dressed, and all his attention to the fuzzing ball in Ace’s hands.

“Phoenix, you’re safe!” The man cheers in relief, reaching out to take Phoenix, no longer Nugget, from Ace who stares in bewilderment. “Oh, I’m so grateful you managed to get him out. I was starting to worry that he might’ve died during that sudden fire, yoi.” Happiness, relief and worry all cling to the man’s deep voice, and Ace continues to stare in wonder before slowly snapping out of it.

“Nugget’s a better name.” He mumbles in spite, barely audible had it not been said in the sudden hush that fell over them.

“Ace, shut up.” Sabo jabs his side, looking a little sheepish to the man in their doorway.

“…” unintelligible grumbles leave Ace but he straightens up as the taller blond sends him a curious look, one of amusement.

Taking the role of ‘most-adult-brother’ Sabo start explaining, “my brother is a firefighter and he saw the bird in need, he brought him here so we could look for the owner. I’m glad you managed to find us so quickly.”

The blond smiles, genuine and soft, as he turns to Ace. And Ace, in turn, can’t help the small blush that creeps up his face at the sight alone. He should save birds more often if it meant meeting hot guys like him.

“I’ve been looking all over, so I couldn’t ignore those posts. But I can’t thank you enough for saving Phoenix, I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.”

“T-thank you.” Ace hates how his voice wavered and how he stumbled, grows almost furious as he sees Sabo masking his laugh under the disguise of a cough.

“How can I repay you for your troubles? Both for saving and feeding him, Phoenix might look like an easy bird but he loves to get into mischief.”

Startled Ace turns his attention back on the man before him, losing his train of thought as he stares into those blue irises.

“A date.” The moment those words leave him mouth he freezes; his damn brain is scattered all around because of that smooth smile thrown his way. “I-I uhh… I mean, you’re hot. No shit, wait…”

Ace forcefully shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, groaning. What is wrong with him. At least Sabo had the decency to move into another room to laugh, because as he does so, the burst of laughter resonates into the hallway.

A chuckle makes Ace warily open his eyes, staring at the blond with dread. He usually is a lot smoother than this, whatever is wrong with him surely is the blonde’s fault, yes, that sounds like a viable reason.

“Let me know when you’re free and I’ll reschedule my appointments, yoi. There’s always time for someone who takes care of Phoenix.”

He melted on the spot, a grin like that should be illegal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw a picture once of Ace wearing firemen clothing and holding a tiny kitten and then this happened xD Fueling my own need for more random Marco and Ace adorableness lmao (Also I'm unoriginal with names, sue me)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think of it! :3


	11. Started at the bottom, now we're here [Marco/Ace]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even if they hadn't seen each other in a long time, love never dies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request by: 20thCentury_Girl  
> Tags: childhood friends, slow romance, a dash of angst, kissing, underage drinking, flashbacks
> 
> Just a fair warning beforehand, this will contain several flashbacks xD

Five years old, filled with nothing but uncontrollable, fiery passion, and stubborn as hell. That, exactly that, would be the first impression he made on the man he came to fall in love with.

The, at the time, ten year old had said nothing when Ace introduced himself however. His short stubby hands reaching out before him with a newfound impatience, urging the blond to hold out his own and shake his hand like the adults always do. In defense for the young, blond teen, Ace had introduced himself, plenty of times if he thought back on that.

Both their parents were close friends, up to this very day, and thus Ace knew the blond teen for, in his eyes, his entire life. Marco, his best friend despite being five years ahead of him, never seemed to have a problem with Ace’s self-proclaimed statement of them being ‘BFF’s’, to him this was merely amusing and he let the currents take him wherever Ace would lead them.

Problematic and adventurous. That’s what Marco said to him at the age of seven, the other being twelve. Ace with his carefree nature tended to get himself into trouble most of the time, finding a challenge around every corner and never backing down from a fight. Naturally Marco had to come, being swept up in Ace’s grand scheme of things and getting the blond into situations unfathomable to any child their age. 

They would get scolded, obviously. Drooping inside one of their respective homes with ripped clothing or mud stains that clung to them like new skin, showing up with a split lip or a freshly blossoming black-eye, and the worst would be when Marco had been send to the hospital after a tricky fall from a tree. And despite that, Marco never left his side. Their difference in age didn’t stop him from coming over, and even when Marco entered high school he would tag along Ace’s misfit of adventures. 

A smile blossomed on his face at the thoughts of his closest friend. 

Soft rumbles of the old car are muffled by the radio, some old ’70’s song that almost everyone knows the lyrics of. The road displaying nothing other than asphalted street with long green fields on each side, occasionally broken by a single home that rests in the never-ending green or herds that enjoy the pleasant summer breeze.

His drive had been a long one but he couldn’t care less, loving every minute of the same grey pavement he moved over at a high speed, excitement bubbling within his chest. He had been more than eager to hit the gas, not wanting to waste any more time driving despite loving the scenery he had not seen in years. But his bank account isn’t much of a fan of sudden plunders.

He wants to rush to the party, but not at the cost of being pulled over.

**‘SPHINX NEXT EXIT’**

His smile grows brighter at the sight of the sign, elated to know his destination is almost within reach. The scene growing more and more familiar with every roll of his tires, feeling giddy to remember the little details about his old hometown. But today he has one destination in mind; Newgate estate.

  


* * *

  


_“Whoa, you live in a house this big?! Are you a prince?” Asked a stunned six year old, his dark eyes wide with wonder as he looked towards the giant home he is introduced to. Home no fitting description as it could easily match their school in size alone._

_An eleven year old snorts, highly amused with the young boy’s enthusiasm. “No, I’m no prince, this is just my home. Now come on, Pops’ waiting and I’m pretty sure he cooked.”_

_The older of the two had no need to repeat his sentence, the six year old more than keen on jumping up and down in pure excitement at the prospect of food. He could not stop the young boy as he shot forward, dashing to the front door. The boy would have collided with the wooden door had it not been for the old man standing in the doorway._

_“There you two are, I was wondering when you’d finally show up.” A large, toothy smile peeked from underneath a massive white moustache as the man kneeled down to hug the six year old._

_“Marco was being lazy, he made me wait! Where’s food?!” The young boy bounced in the hold, trying to look over the man’s shoulder and into the home but failing because of his size._

_“You say that but if I recall you got tired from walking.” The older boy, Marco, huffed._

_The young boy turned on his heel, adamant on giving the blond his piece of mind. A hearty laugh put a stop to their bickering before it started, both boys gazing up to the man. “That journey must’ve been a big one, I take. How about you two come in and fill your bellies from a day of travelling.” The old man guffaws, leaving both boys to wonder what is so funny. “Come on then, wouldn’t want your parents to think we don’t feed you.”_

_“He would gladly feed himself, even when we don’t.” Marco mumbled softly after the young boy raced inside the home, forgetting his best friend at the mention of food._

_“Marco, if you don’t hurry Ace will eat everything.” The man is met with an exasperated eyeroll when the blond walked in, throwing down both his and the boy’s bags before yelling at him not to eat all the food._

  


* * *

  


Driving into the gravel driveway and stepping out to hear the stones grind underneath his feet, Ace was stunned again as he laid his eyes on the house he had known for years. Amazed that nothing seemed to have changed since his last visit three years ago. Despite maintaining the same look Ace was more than familiar with, the mansion clearly gotten a renovation as it looked more time appropriate instead of an old castle—which Ace absolutely loved. 

The lustrous garden before him does not compete with the earlier messy jungle, as he used to call it. Overgrown weeds that at one point definitely mutated into a new sort flower, tree roots popping out of the ground, missing patches of grass due to excessively playing games outside. None of that meets his eyes in the moment. Vibrant rows of multicolored flowers fill everywhere he looked, tree roots nowhere to be seen and the grass looked clean and even, as if someone dedicated their time trimming the ends with a scissor and a ruler to get every sprout the same length. 

Unconsciously, his mind drifts back to the giant tree that would stand in the back garden. He loved that tree, its branches sturdy enough to hold a kid and he could climb all he wanted. Not to mention the swings that were tied to one of the lower hanging branches, simple and made out of a slap of wood with some rope.

  


* * *

  


_“Y’know, you have your own home. You don’t need to come here every time.” A teen around the age of fifteen sat down on the empty swing next to a sour looking ten year old._

_“I wanted to be alone.” The younger grumbled with a huff, clutching the scratchy rope in a fist._

_The older hummed in acknowledgment, not sparing the grumbling teen a look, “came to the wrong place for that, there’s even more here than at your place.” His laugh sounding strained, the voice drop taking a toll on his vocal cords. Yet the boy doesn’t care, slowly pushing himself off the ground to softly sway back and forth._

_Silence fell over them. They don’t wish to break the spell that comforted them both, merely enjoying each other’s presence without the use of small talk. The sulking boy keeping his face down, fist remaining clutched on the rope, his eyes drilling a hole into the sandy ground. A soft gust of wind blowing the strands of his black hair from his face, created by the soft swinging of the older._

_“The sky’s looking clear tonight.”_

_Simple words startled the boy from his musing, confusion contorting over his face as he stared towards the teen. “What?”_

_“The sky,” a finger pointing up towards the dark blue heavens that carried a cloak of little bright orbs, “there’s no cloud to be seen, all stars are equally shining. It’s a clear sky.” His voice crackled a bit and the young boy pursed his lips when he could feel laughter building up._

_“Since when you take interest in nature?” The younger asked in a grumble, the words sounding harsh but he couldn’t take them back._

_A single, thin eyebrow quirked up as the blond teen turned around, electric blue orbs unwavering of the hunched-over body beside him. “I’m not the one moping around.”_

_“I’m not moping! I’m just… it’s just…” his volume gradually fading out, withering with each struggle to find an explanation. Burning anger whirling up inside as hot tears prickle his eyes, defiant to his own crumbling emotional wall._

_“Ever wondered about the stars?”_

_The surging hot pain that erupted within his chest dying down, a feeling of cold water running down his back mending the scorching wounds. His brows flew in the air, creasing his forehead while widened eyes gaze at the boy beside him. Unable to see the older teen’s usual vibrant blues due to the dark blue sky, but the young teen could see how the dim light illuminated his features as he looked up into a sparkling sea of glitters._

_“A lot is said about stars, y’know. How they represent those that have passed on, are a guideline for those that are lost, even those that read the stars to see the future.” The blond gushed, with every passing minute growing excited, telling more of everything he knew._

_And the moping teen? He stared. Unable to tear his eyes away from the boy beside him who so passionately speaks of constellations and science. Feelings unfamiliar to him make his chest feel tight, turn the air into heavy cement and make his stomach flop in a way that was different from his usual stomachache._

_“… point is, you shouldn’t hate yourself.” The young teen flinched back, almost toppling out of the swing when electric blue stared into his startled ashen eyes._

_“If one of those stars wouldn’t be there, constellations wouldn’t make sense. People would remain lost and others might think the world could be exploding at any minute.” A velvety chuckle rolls down the teen’s tongue, unlike anything he had heard before. “If you wouldn’t be here, I’d lost my best friend. No matter how insignificant you might think you are, you’re important to those around you. I’m happy to have you as a friend Ace.”_

  


* * *

  


Ace could feel his lips curl up in a grin at the memory of that night. There had been a fight at school that day, the self-pretentious bullies that haunt the school halls with their ever so gloomy spirits had found their way to him. They kept kicking and screaming that Ace was a snob, that he thought he was better than the rest of them because he was an only child and his parents are rich. Even when the opposite was shoved in their faces with the help of one of Ace’s closest friends, the bull-headed bullies wouldn’t give in. 

When he wanted some time alone to think things over, hating himself for being too weak-minded and prone to hit them all. It felt good though, shoving his fist into the face of the leader of their group, watching how the older boy with bushy black hair and a long crooked nose stumbled backwards before falling on his butt. The only downside was the punishment he had received. His teacher even called his parents to tell them of what ‘evil deeds’ he did and when they came to pick him up, he got scolded. 

Yet Marco, without being told, knew exactly what was bothering him. Ace remembered exactly what the blond said when he confronted him on that, _“I’ll always know if it’s about you.”_ And just that the reminder of those words made his heart swell immensely. 

Next to the booming music and gushing of people, a familiar and chipper voice cuts overhead. The nostalgic smile with the faint pink that dusts his cheeks was overtaken by a toothy grin, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to. Not a second passed by as the bubbly man pulled Ace in a headlock, ruffling his always messy locks up and down.

“There’s the runaway soldier, finally decided city life ain’t cutting it aye?” The fingers being swapped as knuckles take their place, roughly dragging over Ace’s scalp as he tried to break free from the hold.

“Now that I’ve seen your ugly mug, I think I’m turning back.” His hands found their way to the man’s side, pinching and prodding in abandon.

“I’ll have you know that ma— ouch! You should feel special for getting to see such a prime example of beauty.” The man yelped as Ace’s fingers pinched his skin, in retaliation he tightened the headlock while tugging Ace along.

“Oh, people will surely gather to watch it alright,” Ace could see the man’s face light up at the recognition, “for research on how to _not_ become like you.”

Ace got shoved aside, hard enough that it caused a little stumble before he gathered his bearings. Bubbling laughter tumbles down his lips at the mournful face before him.

Even if seven years have passed since he lived here, and three years since he visited for the last time, he could never forget the face that belonged to one of his closest friends. Thatch, among fourteen others, is the adoptive son from Edward Newgate. Next to Ace’s own dad, Edward is the owner of a large scale company. Rivalry had always been on friendly terms and both ends love to taunt each other, as a way to keep the other on their toes and ready for anything coming their way.

And due to their closeness, their families grew up together. Not a day would pass in which Ace wouldn’t see one of the Newgate siblings or vise versa. 

Marco had been the first to be introduced to him. Ace remembered the odd, woolly tuft of blond hair that seemed to sprout out of nowhere from the boy’s head, and he is sure that Marco received a rapid fire of questions about it. Though at that time Ace was only three years old, Marco being eight, and he is more than sure his speech wasn’t that on point as it is today.

“Thatch, he’s not even two whole seconds on this property and you’re already harassing him.” Izo appeared out of thin air, startling both men with his gracious entrance as he walked down the stone stairs that lead to the entrance of the mansion.

Beautiful silk fabric swayed in the wind, dancing delicately with the man’s every move. Unlike the usual assortment of kimonos that Ace is used to see the man in, this one glistens in the sunlight, a calming display of purple in pastels and even a soft hue of red mixed in. Ace knew the man loved kimonos and would make his own as beautiful as possible, but none of those looked this _good_.

He couldn’t take his eyes of the embodiment of beauty that is Izo, probably drooling when he noticed his jaw went slack.

“Oh honey, staring is rude you know.” Slender fingers with delicately painted hibiscus flowers on dark purple nails reach out to him, closing his mouth before Ace could embarrass himself even more.

“Wow, Izo… wow…” words tumble out of his mouth without filter, too mesmerized by the elegant look the man supports.

Izo, smiling like a Cheshire cat, looked oddly satisfied with the gawking and stumbling that came from Ace. “I know dear, I know. Just remember though, no touching.” Adding a little twirl so Ace could see the entirety of the amazing craftsmanship.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Ace chuckled, remembering the time where he accidentally ruined one of the man’s clothes and got dropkicked into the next year. Just thinking what Izo might do if Ace disobeyed his threat sends shivers down his spine.

“But look at you!” Izo gushed, and Ace knew he would be here for some time. “I haven’t seen you for three years and you’ve grown _more muscles_? And you even learned how to dress stylishly.” His hands roam all over Ace’s body, complimenting about everything he could see and touch. While it would be highly uncomfortable to most people, Ace allowed Izo to do as he pleased. He may not touch Izo, but that rule doesn’t apply the other way around.

“And you say I’m harassing him.” Thatch muttered from the sidelines. His lips set in a pout as he looked up from underneath his lashes, not fitting for a man in his thirties.

“ _You’re_ messing up a perfect image of masculinity, _I’m_ admiring the marvelous growth he’s been through.” Izo stated as a matter of fact, not even sparing the man a single look as his eyes remain glued to the black blouse of Ace, top buttons undone to show a bit of skin and not feel entirely wrapped up.

The squabbles they would find themselves in as children have never left as both men start discussing something that had nothing to do with their earlier disagreement.

Ace loves both men, and he would love to spend more time to catch up on their lost time together, but a certain special someone had been on his mind ever since the day he received the invitation to this party. He excused himself from the ongoing fight that had Izo commenting on the pompadour Thatch wore ever since high school. Something about the girls calling him ‘badass’, and he love struck teen took it to heart.

  


* * *

  


_“You look like someone just took a shit on your head.” Wheezed a teen with midnight black hair, the strands looking soft to the touch and reflecting the sunlight as they bundle together in a ponytail._

_“Shut up! The girls said I look cool; you don’t know what cool is!” A teen with auburn hair sneered at the other boy, his hands frantically touching the, what should resemble, pompadour on his head._

_“I think they lost their eyesight.” The raven-haired teen snorted, unbothered by the seething glare send his way._

_“I think it looks neat,” exclaimed a younger teen, his hair matching the dark color of his eyes as he smiled towards the auburn-haired teen, gaining a giddy grin in return, “even if it looks like a turd.” That caused the smile to slip, the teen grimacing to the black-haired teen who looked oblivious to the stare._

_“Ace, you jerk! Don’t say nice things and then stomp on my pride!” The teen screeched, his hands shielding the large tuft of hair away from their judgmental eyes._

_“But it’s true, you want me to lie?” Said Ace at the same time as the other boy taunts, “what pride?”_

_“Yes, I want you to lie! And damn you Izo, I have pride!”_

_“Don’t encourage Ace to lie. I’ll beat you if you so much as try, Thatch.” A new voice echoed in the room. Strands resembling golden threads sway with his every move as pale blue eyes drill a hole into the auburn-haired teen’s back._

_“No!” Thatch cried hysterically, turning on his heel to meet the blond head on. “They’re bullying me, you should hit them, not me!” Empathizing his words by pointing at both Izo and Ace before mentioning to himself._

_“I’m not hitting them,” the blond sighed, “and Ace is just a kid, don’t go around teaching him bad stuff. You’re supposed to be his senior, act like it.”_

_The comment of, “I’m not a kid,” was drowned out by Thatch’s exaggerated remark, “he’s not a kid, did you hear how he broke that boy’s nose. No kid could punch that hard.”_

_Impartial to the ongoing squabble, the blond reached out to Ace. The smile on his face enough of a reason for Ace to comply, meek like a dog he followed the teen around. If he could watch the smile that made his stomach flip in all kinds of directions, then he would never question where they are going._

_“Dad gave me some coins to spend at the funfair in town, wanna go together?” Ace was just in the right of mind to catch himself before he stopped walking all together, the bright grin that was thrown his way made his heart flop and startled him a bit._

_“Can we get food? I love cotton candy!” Ace disregarded the odd churning in his belly as excitement for food. After all, what else could be the cause. It’s not like he ever got sick._

  


* * *

  


Ace needed to stop for a moment to calm his heart. Just thinking back on that day, everything they did together, sends his heart aflame. If only he knew what he knows today. Maybe if he understood those feelings for what they were he would have confronted the blond, maybe he would have actually told him how he felt instead of watching from the sidelines. Maybe he would have never left it at that last kiss—

“Ace,” his name smoothly rolled of a tongue, recognizing the owner immediately. His heart speeds up again, and, for whatever weird reason, he feels nervous. He hasn’t felt nervous about his feelings for that person in a long time, already having accepted what there were.

“Marco,” Ace turned to meet the blond, his smile blinding and with pride he noted how Marco seemed to falter for a moment. “Seems your fashion sense has perked up.” His stupid competitive brain could not keep itself from holding the comment in.

But Marco, having known Ace for a long time by now, doesn’t let it bother him as he flashed a cocky grin. “And it seems you’re still lacking it.”

For the first time since arriving, Ace hugged someone—Thatch’s headlock did not count. Just the comfort of holding Marco in his arms was enough to settle the nervous part of his brain, the one that kept repeating Marco might have forgotten about him, about them.

“How are you?” Marco asked him as they part. No matter the years that have passed, the blue in his eyes will forever captivate Ace.

“Couldn’t be better,” Ace smiled, “the shop’s finally taking off and we’re busy as ever.” He couldn’t hide the excitement in his own voice, but he can’t be blamed when Sabo’s and his shop had finally reached an important milestone.

The grin on the man’s full lips made him want to forget the pleasantries and jump straight ahead to pulling him down for a kiss, but Ace compromised. He wanted to hear more about the man and his life before going hormonal teenager on him—something he should have done when he _was_ a teen.

Marco mentioned for Ace to follow him outside, the living room being crowded with many faces and making it hard to talk in peace. Along the way Ace was stopped multiple times, all his old friends wanting to have a little chat and catch up, and Marco never left his side.

  


* * *

  


_The warm white overhead lights were swapped for vibrant colorful dots that dance on the ceiling and walls. Furniture moved aside to create more room in the already spacious living room. The kitchen counter is littered with all kinds of booze you could ever imagine, along with colorful cups._

_Marco, and some of his other siblings, finally graduated high school. Reason enough for a massive party that had almost their entire school inside the Newgate mansion. Legal age for drinking is eighteen, but that did nothing to stop the minors from getting their fill—precautionary to the arrival of young high schoolers, Edward, otherwise known as Pops, made sure most drinks were either on the lowest percentage of alcohol or non-alcoholic._

_“Tis pary s assome!” Slurred a thirteen year old boy, his dark hair endlessly blurring his vision as he tried to swipe the strands away by hand._

_“Ace, are you drunk?” Chuckled a blushing eighteen year old, his cheeks rosy thanks to the amount of alcoholic beverages he had been receiving. He hold out his hand to tuck some strands out of the younger teen’s face._

_“Nuhu, ur drunk.” A miss pointed finger poking in the air, presumably where the blond should be standing._

_“Alright, no more for you. You’ll get water instead.” The blond added when Ace pouted up at him, a blushed version of puppy eyes._

_“No water, waters’ gross!” His slurred pitch about why he didn’t need water continued even after being pulled outside, the blond cautiously directing him down onto the grassy floor._

_The air was a pleasant cool breeze, something much appreciated in the warm summer days. Ace felt himself relax, his body slouching in place as the throbbing of his head was gradually turning. Somewhere in the air he picked up the scent of upcoming rain, the odd smell of wetness reaching his nostrils, they did mention rain._

_After a beat of silence, “why do you have a pineapple for a head? Luffy said it’s weird, but… it is weird right, like, it’s a fruit. Do you poop seeds?” The genuine concern in his voice made a smile break the blonde’s exasperated exterior, his annoyance for being compared to fruit ignored as he stared into Ace’s dazed eyes._

_“You’re not getting any more booze until you are eighteen,” the young teen made a sound to object but it came out as a gurgled groan, “okay, maybe not ever.”_

_Instead of commenting, the raven-haired teen threw a weak punch at the blond, fist slipping past his bicep and Ace let himself fall down on the other’s lap. His world was spinning a bit, it would be a totally viable reason for him to rest his weary head._

_An object hit his face, small and wet. Bleary eyed, Ace looked around him to see that he had fallen asleep on the other’s lap. The blonde’s hands weaving through his hair was reason enough not to panic, instead he closed his eyes again. In his mind he wondered how long he was out for and probably held the blond back, but the low hum that reverberates from the teen’s throat told Ace he wasn’t the only one enjoying this level of intimacy._

_Yet the wet thing that attacked him earlier seemed to return with vengeance, more and more landed down on his face and once more he stared up to meet welcoming blue orbs._

_“It’s going to rain; we should probably move.” Voice soft, unlike usual and the young teen felt something swell in his heart._

_With a nod he lifted himself up, no longer feeling the odd dizziness from before but not yet stable on his feet. As the older teen reached out to stabilize him, the hell literally rained down upon them. Scurrying to the closest tree for coverage, both teens stand huddled together to keep themselves shielded from the rain._

_His head may have been freed from dizziness, but a certain fog remained, numbing the filter on his brain as he leaned in. Ace brushed his lips against the other, unsure of what was happening himself but not wanting to back down, yet a gut wrenching pain shoots through his body when the other leaned back._

_Blue orbs darted to the side before falling on him again, emotions racing through them that the young teen could not comprehend. He didn’t have to, as the blond leaned in against him, claiming his lips in a way Ace never thought was possible._

_Out of sight for those partying inside, both boys stayed out until the rain subsided._

  


* * *

  


“Everyone’s happy to see you again.” Marco commented as they each claim a swing for themselves. Even after all this time they still remain tied to the same old tree.

Absentmindedly Ace hummed, his mind in the gutter from the moment he set foot in this place. “We haven’t been here for some time, barely spoke to the others. I guess it’s only natural.” His shrugged his shoulders, pushing against the ground to create enough force so he could swing back and forth.

“So where are those two scoundrels you call brothers?” Marco grinned at him while curiosity swirled in his eyes.

“Lu and Sabo will be here soon I guess, they had to take care of a few things before leaving home.” Ace explained, remembering that Sabo told him to go if he was going to be that impatient the entire time.

“Would’ve expected to see the three of you together.” 

Ace shrugged. While it is true that they were almost inseparable since middle school and that lasted all throughout high school and university, he isn’t going to explain the exact reason for his rushed exit, his mind had been on Marco and Marco only. “Sabo wanted to check a few things over before moving here.”

Marco hummed, looking as if he wanted to say more but brushing it off, his feet softly pushing off against the ground to allow the swing to sway. 

“What about you?” Ace asked after a moment of silence, eyes focused on his feet that dangle in time with the sway. Marco turned to him, a crinkle in his forehead as eyebrows knit together, lost on Ace’s out-of-the-blue question. “What’s it like no longer being a junior shrink?”

“Fabulous,” Marco snorted, the sarcasm dripping off his tongue, yet Ace heard the underlying hint of excitement.

Most definitely due to his crazy adventures on doing the most reckless things any kid could do—and dragging Marco along on those—the blond took interest in first aid. From that moment on it kept evolving, from first aid he learned about more and more ways to heal. It didn’t matter if it was medicine of surgery, Marco was interested in almost everything.

Marco, despite his young age, had amazing empathy skills. Adding to the fact that he was very studious and learned at thing or two about human behavior and the human brain, he set his sights on another kind of healing. The human mind.

Every time Marco would come back from university to meet his dad and brothers, he would tell Ace about everything he learned and the ways to implement those on daily life. And Ace, to his best extent, would smile and nod at everything that tumbled out of the blonde’s mouth. He understood little of the man’s newfound interest but he would be supportive no matter what.

Watching the shimmer in his eyes when talking about the different forms of therapy that help by coping with trauma or the concentrated gaze when he tried to remember what prescription would match the example given in his book. All of those things were the limelight in Ace’s world. It never bothered him that he didn’t understand, as long as he got to see the love of his life this passionate about something that interested him.

“… I’ve been asked to be a temporary guidance counselor for New World High, they stared just this year and not everything had been covered.” Marco explained with a shimmer in his eyes, he really is devoted to his job in ways Ace barely sees in others.

“That’s amazing, I’m sure you’ll do great.” Ace smiled. His brain must have had some form of lag because he was sure he missed about half of what Marco told him, but those electric blue eyes are just too captivating to ignore.

A thankful grin graced the man’s face, its warmth made Ace fall deeper into that bottomless pit of love. “Thanks Ace. So then, business going well?”

“You won’t believe it,” Ace stopped his swing to twist in his seat, looking straight at the blond, “we’ve been booked for the next four months. It’s amazing!”

“The two of you can handle that much pressure?”

“Of course! Though it’s not only the two of us anymore.” His mysterious grin trapping Marco in, Ace can see it in the man’s eyes, begging to tell him more as he hung onto his every word. For a psychiatrist, Marco is pretty easy to read.

“We’re expanding.” The casual statement caught the man off guard, Marco needing to do a double take as he stared at Ace.

“Expanding,” He drawled after a moment of silence, “finally opening up that second shop you wanted ever since the first?”

Ace was pleasantly impressed, out of everyone they told about the opening of the second shop, Marco was the first to remember how badly Ace wanted it since the start of their first tattoo shop. Marco had been unable to be there for the opening because of work, most of the Newgate siblings couldn’t make it in the end, but he had made sure to send them all a message that explained how excited he was and that he couldn’t wait to open a second shop.

He couldn’t keep the excitement in any longer, not in front of Marco, the one person he wanted to impress no matter what. Gushing about all details that is the new shop, Ace explained how they will be moving to Sphinx because they wanted to return home. Together with Sabo he will see that the new shop runs smoothly while Luffy, almost finished with his college degree, takes over the first shop. The young boy had shown his excitement many times over and with the new possibilities he wanted to make sure his brothers’ keepsake would be in the proper hands. With that in mind he even gathered a crew that will support him in his wish.

Among all the excitement of the new shop and Marco’s temporarily new job, they started to reminisce on their younger days in school. Marco had moved back to Sphinx shortly after his graduation while Ace and his brothers remained in the big city of Raftel after getting their certificates. With the news that Ace would once again be within walking distance, they picked up the different memories of the past.

While most stories consisted of Ace doing the stupidest of things and Marco having to come to his rescue, the stories from when they grew older turned a little grim. The most freshest of memories where they both started their university life is when they fell quiet…

  


* * *

  


_Five years after the large graduation party in Newgate mansion, a new party was held. Instead of celebrating the success from one of the Newgate siblings, this one was for Ace and Sabo. Done with high school they were now ready to start on their lives as university students._

_Everyone of their friends had traveled back home to be a part of the event that started halfway through the day and ended somewhere past midnight._

_Ace, finally having reached the mature age of eighteen and allowed to have a drink, was pleasantly buzzed while he chatted with his friends._

_And among those who are close friends to him, Ace only had eyes for one man. Marco would occasionally return from university but ever since his graduation he had been busy in the city to get things in order, but what things, Ace had no clue. The only thing he did know was that he would share his feelings for the man tonight. It might have taken him some time, but he was sure about how he felt, and now he wasn’t going to let that chance slip by to tell the blond._

_Spotting the man in a more deserted place in the home, Ace excused himself from his current group to stalk his prey._

_“Hey,” he said, hoping that it sounded low and seductive._

_“Hey,” Marco replied with a grin, swirling his cup around and the honey-colored drink almost slipped past the rim. “Congrats on surviving the first stage of hell.” He held his cup up and Ace tapped it with his own._

_“To many more.” He joked before bringing the cup up to his lips, Marco mimicking the action._

_And, because Ace had been drinking too much already and his want for this man was only growing by the minute, he pulled the cup out of Marco’s hand—they were almost empty anyway so dropping them on the ground wouldn’t matter that much. His fingers latch around the man’s collar and Ace pulled Marco in, fitting his lips to fuller ones that carry a distinct aftertaste of alcohol._

_Days had flitted by after the party from five years ago, when Ace regained the memories of that night. They had been spooking in his head ever since then and this time he was not going to waste any more time._

_Ace would have thought that Marco would be startled by his sudden advances, yet he moved with the same ease as Ace did. His tongue running over his lips and Ace made quick work of pushing his own into the other’s mouth._

_Everything was perfect, marvelous, gratifying even. But then Marco had to pull back. Not a pull back one did for air, which was necessary at this point, this one was for something else. And whatever that something was it shot through those anxious blue lenses, something that Ace had a vague gut feeling about, something he hoped he would be totally wrong about. Yet the next words broke his heart._

_“Ace, I-I… I can’t… I have a boyfriend.”_

  


* * *

  


There is a burning in his heart that came along with that memory, only intensifying when Marco doesn’t speak. But Ace knew the blond was thinking about the same thing, engrossed by the memory of that night where they tried avoided each other like the plague. Ace had stomped off like the big he child he was and thrown petty glances at the blond who could only look remorseful.

Marco had tried to talk to him several times that night and Ace bounced them into the garbage can every single time. He didn’t need pity talk from the guy that gave in to a kiss, he really didn’t.

 _‘I’ll always know if it’s about you’_. Well wasn’t that one big, fat lie. If Marco knew, truly and well-intentionally knew, he wouldn’t have gotten with another man.

Ace had his fair share of partners, but that was after Marco so kindly broke his heart. When he figured out the love he felt for the man wasn’t any form of brotherly love or friendship, he did everything he could to make Marco notice him. To get the man to confess about his feelings. 

Blinded by emotions, sure Ace could be that way, but it never obscured his view on the blond. To Ace, those blue eyes spoke of every truth that went on inside that swirling whirlwind of a head. Marco was interested in him too, liked him as more than a friend, so he did his best to convince the man to confess, to say _something_. But he never succeeded.

“So, how’s the boyfriend?” His voice cold, void of any emotion that he displayed earlier.

Marco cringed, Ace could see from the corner of his eye, see the abrupt halt he made and nervous tapping on the floor. Somewhere in his mind he felt like he should apologize, it’s petty and low to jab the man like that, but the sadistic part of his brain wanted to make Marco feel his pain, maybe inflicting a little more.

The rapid tapping stopped, Marco turned to him as best he could with the swing limiting his movement, which was a lot, and Ace dreaded his next words. “Ace…”

“Okay never mind that, it’s fine, you don’t need to answer. It’s a stupid question anyway.” He couldn’t bear to hear what Marco was going to say, even thinking what he might say was like a knife stabbed in his heart.

“Ace, it’s not a—”

“I loved you… still do.” He blurted before he could stop the words. 

“I know.” Marco had twisted himself properly back into the swing, his eyes staring at the ground before him.

“Why didn’t you say something?” There was a spark of hope in his heart, that Marco still felt the same after all this time.

“Because I…” he took a deep breath, clearing his mind before the words tumbled from his mouth, “because I kept telling myself that it wasn’t me you wanted, that the look in your eyes didn’t mean what I wanted it to mean. And if I could believe that, then I wouldn’t have to feel so empty inside when you went off with others.”

A surge of protective anger whirled up in Ace. With a single jump he found himself out of the swing and in front of the blond, startling the man but he could care less. The only reason they never became something more is because they never communicated about their true feelings, just grasping on to the strings handed to them and bending the truth to match.

“You were all I wanted! You’re all I want _now_.” His hand took a hold of Marco’s face, making sure the blond could not look anywhere but directly at him. “I’m sorry it took that long for me to understand what I felt, but those feelings never changed in all those years.” 

“No, I know, and I’m glad… but it should be me who—”

Marco’s apology was cut short by a pair of lips that planted themselves on his. Ace was done with talking, apparently words wasn’t their strongest side so he decided on another route. And if Marco was appalled by that, he did not show, wouldn’t even complain when Ace made to sit on his lap while the seat swayed dangerously under the weight of two men. Instead he pulled Ace closer, wrapping his arms around him in an embrace that could lock a person in place, but Ace couldn’t care less, not when he finally is this close to Marco.

Their foreheads leaned against each other as they parted, gazing into the other’s eyes in serene silence that Marco was the first to break, “there’s no boyfriend, fiancé, or husband. There is no one in my life… but you.”

Ace felt a smile bloom on his face, a warm and fluttery feeling shooting through his veins. “And you should’ve told me sooner.”

“I know, but that’s why I’m doing it right now.” 

Ace frowned at the man; it didn’t even make any sense. Yet this time it were his words that were cut short as Marco leaned in, sealing his lips with a kiss that made Ace forget what he was going to say.

  


— **O** — 

  


“I told you so.” Said Izo absentmindedly, his focus on the tiny brush in his hand to create the perfect, clean line on his nails.

“Yeah but… Ace? I was sure Marco would make the first move.” Thatch breathes incredulously, his eyes still on the scene outside before turning around. Wouldn’t do good to have such an image burned into his brain.

“It’s always been Ace, honey. Marco just didn’t know what to do.” Izo shrugged his shoulder, hissing when he accidently touched the brush where it wasn’t supposed to go.

_~In another part of the home~_

“ _Gurararara_ , those lost lovebirds finally settled down.” Edward Newgate laughed loudly, slapping the man beside him on the back.

“Young ones these days sure do take their time, don’t they?” Roger huffed as he twirled his moustache between fingers. He turned away from the window and his feet take him to his awaiting glass of rum.

“Since you lost this bet, how about we make another.” Edward grinned at the man, throwing back his own glass before slamming it down on the table. “A hundred says a marriage proposal will be at their two year anniversary.”

“Have you gone senile old man, all that booze goes straight to your head.” Roger laughed, pouring himself and the man another glass. “Two hundred says the proposal will be before the end of next year.”

“I’ll drink to that.” The man smiled before taking another swing of his drink. Roger felt himself smile wider than necessary, this time he won’t come out as the loser, he knew exactly what Ace’s plan was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was such a delight to write, like literally! I've been working on it non-stop for the past days... weeks, idk anymore, but it was fun. And for those that don't wanna do the math, in the current scenario Ace would be 25 and Marco 30.  
> I really hope you enjoyed it because I certainly did and it turned out a whole lot better than I originally thought it would :3 Let me know what you think of it!! :3


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